


One For The Money

by SpongeAddict



Series: Scooby Doo: Origins [1]
Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types, Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated (Cartoon 2010)
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:26:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 55,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23004658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpongeAddict/pseuds/SpongeAddict
Summary: The first in the Origins series. Norville "Shaggy" Rogers is less than excited to move across the country in the middle of his sophomore year of high school. But when he, his dog and three kids from school stumble upon a counterfeit operation run by an apparent monster, friendships form and it turns out to be the most exciting semester of Shaggy's life. Fraphne with hints of Shelma. Rated T for language, drug and alcohol references, and other mature themes. Reviews appreciated!Ch 1: Hello, GoodbyeCh 2: Be True To Your SchoolCh 3: Getting To Know YouCh 4: Ain't No Rest For The WickedCh 5: Uptown GirlCh 6: GhostCh 7: Bad ReputationCh 8: LoserCh 9: Drive My CarCh 10: Hello, SeattleCh 11: DowntownCh 12: Get The Party StartedCh 13: Oh What A NightCh 14: Don't Take It PersonalCh 15: The MonsterCh 16: The StrangerCh 17: Thinking Out Loud
Relationships: Daphne Blake/Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley/Norville "Shaggy" Rogers
Series: Scooby Doo: Origins [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653307
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44





	1. Hello, Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on FanFiction.net
> 
> Revised August 2019. This series is my take on the gang’s high school days, and how they got together and started solving mysteries.
> 
> Like all my Scooby Doo stories, the pairings are Fraphne and Shelma for this fic, though nothing too explicit. Also, there will be some mature-ish themes in these stories. I’m going to try REALLY HARD not to trigger anyone, so please let me know if there need to be more explicit trigger warnings in the beginnings of the chapters. Warning: Shaggy’s gonna smoke some pot in this chapter. Not much, and not for long, but I just wanted to warn you all. Also, language.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters – they belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 1: Hello, Goodbye**

Ohio was an incredibly boring state. Truly. Norville "Shaggy" Rogers thought this to himself as he stared out the window of the van he was riding in. It was the beginning of January and there were remains of snow and ice that had been shoved to the sides of the road by snow plows.

 _Like, I swear to God we passed that exact same bump in the road twenty minutes ago,_ he thought to himself bitterly. Absentmindedly, the lanky, scruffy teenager patted the head of his Great Dane, Scooby Doo, who was crowded into the back seat of the van, along with him and the rest of their suitcases. Scooby was also looking out the window.

"Reverything rooks re rame," he commented.

"Like, yeah I know Scoob," Shaggy replied forlornly. "This is like, so different from California."

"Norville, please don't start that again," his mother sighed from the front seat. "I promise you'll like Ohio if you just give it a chance."

"Your mother's right," said his father, who was driving. "I know you'll miss Vista Heights, but I promise that Coolsville will grow on you. I mean…look out the window! There's snow outside! You've never seen snow in your life!"

Shaggy couldn't give a damn about snow. He had liked California, where it was warm and sunny all the time. But now here he was, leaving the place where he'd been raised for fifteen years to live in some frozen tundra. And in the middle of his sophomore year of high school, no less. Besides, the stuff on the side of the road was gray and mushy, so it didn't really constitute as "snow". Shaggy sighed. He was going to hate it here.

He fingered the marble pipe and the tiny baggie of pot that the pocket of his brown pants contained. Part of him wished he could light up, but knew that he couldn't because his parents (and Scooby) were right there in the car with him. He wondered if you could score good weed in Ohio. _Probably not_ , he decided.

He wasn't sure what he'd do if he couldn't find marijuana in Coolsville. It had been pretty easy to come across in California. Shaggy had only started smoking it a couple weeks ago (at the persuasion of one of his old friends), but already he used it as a coping mechanism. Brannen, the friend who'd started him smoking, had given Shaggy the tiny baggie as a goodbye gift, but Shaggy knew full well that he couldn't just ask Brannen to mail marijuana almost three-thousand miles across the country.

Shaggy couldn't worry about that for very long though, because the next thing he knew, the van was turning onto a street, FitzSimmonds Court, and their new house was before his very eyes.

"Welcome home, Norville," his mother said.

 _This is like, not home,_ Shaggy thought to himself. _It'll like, never be home._ But he gave an unrelenting sigh. _Hello, Coolsville. Goodbye, Vista Heights._

x.X.x

The next street over, thirteen-year-old Velma Dinkley was hunched over a desk, rapidly finishing her geometry homework. Usually, geometry was a class taken by eleventh graders, but Velma was so bright that not only had she skipped a year of school, she had taken Algebra 2 as a freshman and was now taking geometry as a sophomore. She was used to having a room to herself – ever since her older sister Dottie had gone to college, Velma had had the entire room to herself. But now, Dottie was pregnant and while she and her (brand new) husband searched for a place to live, the two of them were staying in Velma's house and Dottie was living back in their old room. She was taking a nap at the moment. Her belly had swelled slightly with child. It wasn't due for seven more months, but Velma's parents were already excited about the prospect of having a grandchild. It mattered little, it seemed, that Dottie and Bill had conceived the child out of wedlock.

As much as Velma loved her big sister, she did not love sharing a room again. Especially since her other sister Madelyn, was still running around. Madelyn was eleven, two years younger than Velma. So add her, plus a pregnant older sister and her frazzled husband and you had a madhouse. Literally.

There was far too much noise in the house for Velma to be expected to work. She sighed and pushed her glasses further up her face so they wouldn't fall off her nose. If it was nice out, she'd walk to the library a few blocks away, or just do her homework outside in her favorite spot in the woods. But Ohio winters were ridiculously cold, so Velma would have to deal with the noise.

Sighing, she continued working on her proofs and plodded her way through the rest of her homework.

x.X.x

On the ritzier end of town, Daphne Blake stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, singing along to a song that was playing on her radio. The fifteen-year-old had high hopes of being famous one day. Recently, before winter vacation, the drama club had put on a production of the musical _Into the Woods_. Daphne had landed the role of Cinderella, even though she was only a sophomore, and she'd stolen the show. She loved the drama club. She couldn't wait until she was a junior and she could take drama as an actual class.

Thinking of classes caused Daphne to scowl as the song ended. She couldn't help thinking of this boy who had somehow ended up in her homeroom and three of her classes this year. Fred Jones was the name of the boy. He was cute enough, she supposed, but damn if he wasn't the most egocentric person on earth. He thought he was God's gift to women or something. For some reason, he'd set his sights on Daphne that year and had been asking her out since September. She had relentlessly refused every single time he tried. He was so NOT her type. He played football. She played characters. He read trap articles. She read scripts. They were from two completely different worlds…although not exactly. He lived one street over from her. But still. They were complete opposites. Why in the world would he want to go out with someone that he had nothing in common with?

 _Probably because of my looks_ , Daphne thought ruefully. She put a lot of effort into making herself look presentable, but unfortunately it warranted a lot of unwanted attention from boys that she would sooner shamelessly ignore than actually talk to. And Fred Jones was one of those boys.

Daphne was sick of dating boys who only thought she was a pretty face. She wanted a boy who liked the _real_ Daphne. She wanted a boy who saw past her appearance and saw into her soul.

She was beginning to wonder if such a boy even existed. And if he did, he certainly wasn't at Coolsville High.

x.X.x

One street over, Fred Jones lounged on his couch, simultaneously watching football and reading an interesting article in the magazine _Traps Illustrated._ He wasn't sure how he'd suddenly achieved this interest in traps. Maybe it was the building that excited him. The thinking strategy. It was like memorizing a football play – considering all possible outcomes and trying to see which way worked the best.

It wasn't just traps he tried that with, though. He'd also tried his think-it-through-and-see-what-works strategy as a way to try to win the heart of Daphne Blake.

So far, he hadn't had much luck.

He wasn't sure why this was. Half the girls in school were drooling over him. The only two that were in his grade that he could think of that weren't after him were Velma Dinkley (but then again, Fred wasn't even sure she liked guys) and Daphne Blake.

Daphne was an enigma. She was the most popular girl in school – you'd think that she would _want_ to have the most popular guy in school as her boyfriend. But she showed absolutely no interest in him, and she had no idea why. He was sensitive, clever, well-mannered, considerate, passionate, charming, handsome, funny and kind. What more could a girl ask for? Why was she so resistant?

Well, he had another strategy up his sleeve. He would try it tomorrow when he saw her in school. They sat right next to each other in French class. Daphne Blake would not be able to resist his seductive moves for long.

x.X.x

It was already quite dark by the time the moving van arrived and the Rogers' had gotten all of their boxes transferred from the truck to the house. They had set up essentials – like beds – and were planning on unpacking the rest later. For now, Shaggy's parents were exhausted. They'd been driving for days.

"Norville," said his mother as she climbed the stairs to her new room. "You need to get some sleep. You start school in the morning."

School. Ugh. Shaggy didn't even want to think about school. He needed a smoke.

"Like okay Mom. I'll be right up," Shaggy said. He waited until he heard his mother's door shut before he grabbed his jacket and Scooby. "Like, come on Scooby Doo."

"Rare're re roing, Raggy?" Scooby wanted to know.

"Like, just outside. If you have to like, go to the bathroom or anything, now's the time." Shaggy opened the back door and Scooby sprinted out to relieve himself. There was no fence, but there was a vast amount of trees behind the house. Shaggy made his way into the woods and lit up. Truth be told, he was still getting used to smoking. He hadn't quite figured out how to do it so it didn't burn, but the pipe definitely made it a smoother ride.

"Raggy?" Shaggy jumped upon hearing Scooby's voice behind him. The dog looked at him sternly. Scooby did not like it when Shaggy smoked.

Shaggy plummeted inside himself. Having Scooby Doo catch him smoking was worse than having his parents catch him smoking.

"Look, Scooby Doo," he tried to defend himself. "I'm like, really stressed, you know? I have to start all over again at a brand new school in the morning and I'm like, terrified. This is like, a coping mechanism. I'm not getting hooked, I swear."

"Riff roo ray ro," Scooby said, though he didn't look completely convinced. Shaggy sighed and turned away so he could finish smoking the bowl when a sudden wind blew through the trees and something green, rectangular and paper-y his him right in the face.

Shaggy grabbed at it before it could fly away in the breeze again.

"What's this?" he wondered, looking at it. It was dark, so it was a little hard to tell what it was at first. But after a while, Shaggy realized that he was looking a fresh, crisp-looking twenty dollar bill. His eyes widened. "Zoinks!" he exclaimed. Then he paused. _Zoinks? Like, where the hell did that come from? What does that even mean?_ Whatever. It had felt like a natural response to have when a brand-new twenty dollar bill hit you in the face.

"Rut ris rit, Raggy?" asked Scooby.

"Check it out, Scoob," Shaggy said, bending down so the dog could see. "It's like, twenty bucks." Scooby's eyes widened.

"Rare rid rit rome from?" he wondered.

"Like, I have no idea." Suddenly, Shaggy was struck by a terrifying thought that made his stomach twist in fear. What if he and Scooby weren't the only ones in the woods? What if there was someone else lurking in the darkness, hiding in the trees not too far away? Shaggy gulped. He knew he had an extremely over-active imagination – people told him so all the time and it was probably why he was such a good artist – and he knew that he watched way too many horror movies for his own good.

But where had the twenty come from?

"Like it's late Scooby Doo," Shaggy said. "Let's go back inside." Scooby seemed more than willing to comply as he sped ahead of Shaggy towards the safety and warmth of the house. Shaggy pocketed the money and looked behind him once more before he re-entered the house. He couldn't get rid of the chilling sensation that another person was watching from the woods.

But he shook it off and headed upstairs, now scared by another upcoming issue – the prospect of school the next morning. How unfair that he had to be starting over the middle of his sophomore year.

Shaggy lay awake for hours as he worried endlessly about the next day and he didn't fall asleep for a very long time.


	2. Be True To Your School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Warning: language. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters – they belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera

**Chapter 2: Be True to Your School**

"Like Mom, can't I _please_ take Scoob to school with me?" Shaggy was pleading the next morning.

"Norville, we have been over this – you are not allowed to take him to school with you. If you couldn't take him to school in California, what makes you think you'd be allowed to take him to school with you in Ohio?" Shaggy's mother replied. She understood that her son was nervous, but did he seriously think she'd allow him to bring his dog to school?

"Like, Scooby Doo is smart, Mom!" Shaggy argued. "I could like, put some clothes on him and pretend he's a kid and no one would know!"

"I'm sorry, Norville," his mother said, relentlessly shaking her head. She wished that her husband was at home to back her up, but he was already at his new job. "Scooby will be here when you get home. You'll be fine on your first day without him. I promise."

Shaggy groaned inwardly. Once his mother had made up her mind about something, there was no turning back. Unable to do much else, he walked over to where Scooby sat by the front door and patted his head.

"Like, be good for Mom, Scoob," Shaggy told him.

"Scooby and I will do some unpacking," Mrs. Rogers said. Shaggy and Scooby made faces at each other, indicating that unpacking was the last thing either of them wanted to do. Suddenly, at the end of the cul-de-sac, a bus pulled up.

"Like…here I go, I guess." Shaggy sighed. He patted Scooby one last time and bravely made his way out the door into the chilly morning to catch the bus.

He sat in a seat near the front of the bus and stared out the window until the bus arrived at school. He stood up and was almost trampled by the stampede of kids from the back of the bus.

"Like, sorry," he muttered an apology to a small girl that he bumped into, almost knocking her glasses off her face. He didn't turn around to see if she was okay – he just walked straight for the building, wondering where the main office was.

Luckily, he didn't have to wonder for long. There was a large sign that said "MAIN OFFICE" outside one of the first doors he saw when he walked in.

"Um…like, excuse me?" he said to the lady at the front desk.

"Yes dear, how may I help you?" the lady asked, smiling pleasantly. She was one of those ladies who wore bright red lipstick and false eyelashes.

"Uh…well like, I'm new…" Shaggy stammered.

"Oh, you must be Norville Rogers," the lady said, digging through some papers on her desk. "I've got your schedule in here somewhere…ah, here it is!" She proudly thrust a piece of paper towards him that bore a list of classes, teachers, and room numbers as well as – he noticed with a grimace – his full name. Norville Chastain Rogers.

Suddenly, four other students walked into the main office and headed for the intercom. Shaggy watched them, puzzled.

"Those are the class representatives," the lady explained when she noticed him watching them. "They make the announcements for their respective grades." She called to one of them. "Freddie, could you come here for a second?" A blond kid who looked like he played a lot of sports approached them. "Fred, after you're done making the sophomore class announcements, would you care to help the new student find his homeroom?"

"Of course, Mrs. McDougall," the boy, Fred, replied, casting a grin at Shaggy before he hurriedly joined the other students around the intercom. As Shaggy waited, Mrs. McDougall wrote him a tardy pass and he got to listen in on the first part of the morning announcements – the ninth-grade announcements came first. Fred, as the tenth-grade class representative, went next.

"Hey, sophomores!" Fred sounded awfully cheery for so early in the morning. "This is your class representative Fred Jones speaking, and here are your announcements for the morning. Don't forget that there's still time to order your class rings, so ask your homeroom teachers for an order form if you still haven't done it! Also, a second round of PSATs will be happening in March, so be sure to register for that no later than January 30th!" When Fred was done, he, like the freshman representative, left the room. But instead of heading into the hallway, he headed for Shaggy.

"Hi," he said, extending a hand. "I'm Fred Jones, sophomore class representative."

"Shaggy Rogers," Shaggy replied, shaking Fred's hand. "I'm like…the new kid."

Fred chuckled. "Let me see that schedule of yours." Shaggy handed the schedule over. Fred raised his eyebrows at the boy when he saw what his full name was.

"Like apparently I was named after some great-great relative or something," Shaggy defended himself.

"It's cool," Fred said. "You don't usually see names like 'Norville' or 'Chastain'." He continued reading the schedule and beamed. "Heyyyyyy! You're in my homeroom! Sweet! And hey, we've got P.E, lunch, study hall and English together, too!" Fred looked at Shaggy. "Don't worry, Shaggy. As class representative, it's my job to make you feel at home. So you just come to me if you have any questions, okay?"

Shaggy nodded. He was beginning to like Fred. Even though Fred seemed a bit like he had his head in the clouds.

"The neat thing about Coolsville High," Fred told Shaggy as they exited the main office and walked down the hall, "is that you stay with the same homeroom teacher with the same kids in the class all four years. So your homeroom class becomes kind of like a family. Well, I think that's kind of neat." Shaggy wondered why Fred thought it was so "neat". He couldn't think of any reasons, except maybe if his friends were all in homeroom with him.

"You play any sports?" Fred asked Shaggy. Shaggy shook his head.

"Like, I run cross country and track," Shaggy replied. "But I'm guessing track season doesn't start until like, the spring?"

"Yeah," Fred told him. "I kind of hit a lull in my life when football season comes to an end, too. I play quarterback for the JV team. Coach Warren – he's also our P.E teacher – thinks that I'll make varsity next year."

"Nice," Shaggy said. Sports weren't exactly his strong suit, but he knew that making varsity anything was always good.

"Okay, here's our homeroom," Fred said, stopping outside of a closed door. "The teacher, Mr. Aiken, will most likely introduce you to the class. People will probably stare at you, but just ignore them. There's an empty seat next to me that Mr. Aiken will probably make you sit in, so just go right there when he points it out."

"Right." Shaggy was beginning to get nervous again. Fred opened the door and the two boys walked in.

The teacher was a tall, dark-haired man wearing glasses and a brown suit. Shaggy assumed this was Mr. Aiken. His eyes lit up when he noticed the two boys.

"You must be the new student," he said, beaming at Shaggy.

"Uh…like, yep," Shaggy mumbled almost inaudibly.

"Class," Mr. Aiken said, taking a peek at Shaggy's schedule, where his name was prominently displayed at the top. "This is our new student, Norville Rogers. Please make him feel at home."

Shaggy heard several students snicker quietly and he felt his neck go hot. He kept his eyes down as Mr. Aiken gestured to the seat beside Fred, near the back of the room.

"Want me to give you the inside scoop on everyone in our homeroom?" Fred whispered as soon as Shaggy sat down.

"Like, sure," Shaggy replied. It would keep his mind off how embarrassed he felt.

"All right." The boys continued to talk in hushed whispers as homeroom wore on. Fred pointed to a red-haired girl in a purple dress a few seats in front of them to the right. "That's Daphne Blake. She's the most popular girl in the sophomore class and she's totally hot. She recently starred in the drama club's production of some fairy tale musical…I don't remember what it was, but it was really good. She's really talented and really smart and really funny."

Shaggy was beginning to see why Fred thought it was so "neat" that the homeroom classes stayed the same all four years.

Once Fred had finished gushing about the perfection of Daphne, he pointed out another girl not too far away. "That's Velma Dinkley."

"She like, looks kinda small," Shaggy couldn't help commenting.

"Yeah, that's cuz she's technically a year younger than the rest of us."

Shaggy's eyebrows furrowed quizzically. "Like, what?"

"She's a super-genius, so she skipped like, first or second grade when she was a kid and has been in our class ever since. She's younger than the rest of us but she has a higher GPA than anyone else in the sophomore class," Fred explained. Shaggy glanced at the girl again. He couldn't quite see her face since he was mostly behind her, but he could see her glasses and a sliver of a freckled cheek. Her hair, though cut in a short pageboy, was auburn in hue and complimented her orange sweater and red skirt nicely.

Shaggy continued to listen to Fred point out people and say their names, although Shaggy soon forgot most of them. This 411 session continued until the bell rang.

"What's your next class?" Fred asked Shaggy as the classroom emptied.

"Uh…" Shaggy glanced at his schedule. "Spanish 2. With Rodriguez."

"What room is it?" Fred asked. Shaggy looked again.

"Like, room 217."

"Okay, well you're going to take the stairs to the second floor," Fred told him. They were out of the classroom now and Fred indicated the staircase at the end of the hallway. "When you reach the top of the staircase you take a left and walk down a ways. Room 217 should be on the right side of the hallway."

"Like thanks Fred," Shaggy said.

"No problem! See you in P.E!" With that, the blond-haired boy smiled at Shaggy and sped off in the opposite direction to his own class. Shaggy headed down the hall, climbed the staircase and found room 217 with no problems. He headed for the teachers' desk to explain that he was new.

"¡ _Muy bueno_!" the teacher, Sra. Rodriguez used the Spanish expression for 'very good'. "Let's see…you're Norville, ¿ _si_?"

"Like, yeah." Shaggy didn't feel like correcting her right then.

"Okay," she replied, handing him a book of Spanish names. "Well you have to pick out a Spanish name – preferably one that starts with the same letter as your first name – and then take a seat right over there, next to _Valencia._ " Shaggy turned to see who Sra. Rodriguez was indicating and saw Velma Dinkley from his homeroom. He could see her entire face now. Her eyes were green behind her glasses.

"Like, okay. Thank you. Uh…I mean, _gracias_."

" _De nada_ ," Sra. Rodriguez replied with a smile. Shaggy made his way over to the desk beside Velma. She looked up from the book she was reading (it was something with an author whose name Shaggy couldn't even pronounce) and grinned when she saw him approaching.

"You're the new kid in my homeroom, right?" she asked. "Norville?"

Shaggy felt blood rush to his face. "Like, it's Shaggy," he mumbled. Velma grinned wider.

"Yeah, I'd probably go by a nickname if my name was 'Norville', too," she said ruefully. Shaggy grinned back as he took a seat. "I'm Velma," she introduced herself, extending a hand.

Shaggy almost said, "I know," but decided that he shouldn't. Instead, he replied, "Like, nice to meet you," took her small hand in his big one and shook it. His palm was a little sweaty. First day nerves, he was sure.

"So have you picked out a Spanish name yet?" Velma asked, nodding her head towards the book that Shaggy held in his other hand.

"Like I haven't even looked at this yet," Shaggy said, opening the book. "Like, wanna help?"

"I'd be obliged," Velma said, her green eyes sparkling behind her glasses. Shaggy felt his face go hot again and flipped to the 'S' section. There wasn't much to choose from.

"Like not a lot of options," he said.

"How about this one?" Velma pointed. " _Salvador._ "

Shaggy glanced at the name. He liked the artist Salvador Dali. It might not be so bad to share a name with him, at least in this class.

"Like, what's it mean?" he asked, though he could clearly see the definition as Velma read it.

"It means 'savior'," she replied. Shaggy stared at the book.

"I don't know…" he hedged. "Isn't that like…kind of obnoxious?"

"I don't think it's conceited if that's what you mean." Velma replied. "It's just a name. It doesn't have to describe your personality or anything."

"Well like, what does _Valencia_ mean?" asked Shaggy.

"'Strength'," Velma scoffed, as if this wasn't the first time someone had asked. "But look at me. I'm puny."

Shaggy held out his skinny arm next to her slender one. "Like, I don't know. I don't have a whole lotta muscle myself. Like, I bet you could beat me in arm wrestling if you tried."

Velma's eyes sparkled again. "Is that a challenge?"

Shaggy suddenly found it very difficult to swallow, looking into her eyes like this. Thankfully, before he could think of anything to say that would possibly ruin the moment, the bell rang.

When class started, Sra. Rodriguez introduced the class to " _Salvador,"_ then began a lesson on irregular verbs and set the students to practice in their textbooks.

"So where did you move from?" asked Velma as they began to work.

"Like, California," Shaggy replied. "A town called Vista Heights."

"Jinkies! California is a long way from here."

_Jesus Christ,_ Shaggy thought to himself. _First I say 'zoinks', now she's saying 'jinkies'? Are stupid words like, contagious in Ohio?_ "Yeah," he said out loud. "My parents were driving for like, days."

"What do you think of Coolsville so far?" asked Velma. Shaggy paused, wondering how to answer.

"Like, I really miss Vista Heights," he hedged, not wanting to come right out and say 'I fucking hate it here.'

"I can see that," Velma sighed. She added a tilde over the 'n' in the word she had just written down. "But I think the longer you stay, the more it'll grow on you."

Geez, she sounded like his mother. Inwardly, Shaggy rolled his eyes. "Like, I guess." He really didn't want Coolsville to grow on him.

"Have you met anyone?" Velma asked. "I mean, besides me?"

"Like, the class representative helped me out in homeroom," Shaggy told her. Velma's face became impassive.

"Oh yeah. Fred Jones," she said. "I saw you walk into homeroom with him."

"…You like, sound like you don't like him much," Shaggy couldn't help noticing.

Velma sighed. "I mean, he's okay I guess…he just annoys me."

"Like, how?"

"I don't know," Velma told him. "I guess I'm just really irritated by guys who are complete space cadets. I mean, Fred is perfectly nice, don't get me wrong. But…I just get an air-headed vibe from him. I'm appalled by his stupidity at times." Velma sighed again. "I don't know. I guess it's just me being snobby in my own way, because I appreciate people who are intellectual and get good grades and enjoy reading…like me."

This statement made Shaggy deflate a little, but he wasn't sure why.

x.X.x

Spanish class was over way too quickly. Next Shaggy had Algebra 2.

"I took that class last year," Velma told him as they walked out of the room. "It wasn't too bad, and Mr. Mackmin is a good teacher." She paused. "Want me to walk you to class?"

Shaggy stood in the hallway and looked at her. He was getting nervous again, but it was a different sort of nervousness than he'd felt at the beginning of the day.

"Uh…like thanks Velma, but I think I'm okay," he said. He thought he saw disappointment flicker across her face, but it was gone in a second.

"Okay," she said. "I'll see you later." She gave him a small smile and walked down the hall. Shaggy watched her leave, but she was already gone before he realized that he had no idea where to go.

He really wished he had a map of the school. Why hadn't Mrs. McDougall given him one? Shaggy groaned. He was going to be late to class on his first day of Coolsville High. That was definitely going to get him off to a bad start with his Algebra teacher.

"You okay?"

Shaggy swiveled his head around at the new voice and found that it belonged to Daphne Blake, also from his homeroom.

"Uh…like, why?"

Daphne gave a small grin. "You look kinda lost."

"Like how could you tell?"

Daphne laughed. "You're from my homeroom, right?"

"Like, yeah," Shaggy replied. "You can call me Shaggy."

"You can call me Daphne," Daphne told him with a grin. "So are you?"

"…Am I what?"

"Lost," Daphne replied.

"Oh. Like, yeah." Shaggy handed her his timetable. "Like, do you know how to get to Mr. Mackmin's room?" Daphne looked at his schedule, then glanced back up at him with a grin.

"Yeah, cuz I'm going there too." She smiled wider. "Let's go together."

Shaggy didn't get to talk to Daphne in Algebra because they wound up sitting on opposite sides of the room, but on the way they got to talk a little.

"So have you met anyone yet?" Daphne asked. "I saw you walk into class with Fred Jones."

Was there hostility in her voice?

"Like yeah," Shaggy replied. "He like, helped me out when I first got here. He seems okay."

"Yeah, he SEEMS that way," Daphne said. "But don't let it fool you. I'm telling you Shaggy, he thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread, and all of his friends are dimwits."

Good God. Did EVERYONE in this school have a problem with Fred Jones? Or was it just the girls? Shaggy was a bit disheartened to hear that Daphne felt this way about Fred, considering the way he had talked and talked and talked about her all throughout homeroom.

Algebra also flew by and Daphne pointed Shaggy in the direction of his next class, which was World History with a teacher named Ms. English.

_Like that is some serious irony,_ Shaggy thought to himself as he headed down the hallway. _Or maybe it's incongruity. I can like, never keep them straight._

Daphne smiled as she watched the new kid head for his next class, glad that she had been able to help. However, she frowned at the thought of her next class.

French 2. With Fred.

She hadn't seen him since last semester, before winter vacation. Surely, since then, he had come up with some sort of line to try to woo her. Maybe several lines. But until he behaved like a human instead of an ape, Daphne was not going to give in. Not in this lifetime.

x.X.x

Fred was sitting in his usual desk (which happened to be next to Daphne's) when she walked in. He opened his mouth to say something.

"No," Daphne said as she took a seat. Fred stared at her.

"No what?"

"No to whatever it is that you were going to say to me," Daphne replied.

"But you don't know what I was going to ask!" Fred protested.

"I have a pretty good idea," Daphne retorted under her breath so the teacher, Madame Van de Kamp, wouldn't hear.

"I don't understand why you won't give me a chance," Fred told her. But Daphne simply ignored him as she conjugated French verbs. When the bell rang about an hour later, Fred followed her out the door.

"Would you quit following me?" she muttered.

"I can't really help it that I'm following you," Fred explained. "We're going to the same place." Their next class was gym.

Daphne sighed. She knew he was right. She also knew that she was being unreasonable. She almost decided to apologize, when two girls – one sophomore and one junior – approached Fred.

"Hi Fred," one of them, a blonde girl named Adrienne Maxim giggled, fluttering her eyelashes. She was a sophomore.

"How was your winter vacation?" asked the junior, a brunette named Rita Reynolds. She put her hand on Fred's shoulder. The girls giggled as he gave his answer and stayed behind to talk to them. Daphne rolled her eyes and left.

_This_ was what bugged her about Fred so much. He flirted with every two-legged female on the planet. It annoyed Daphne to no end, but she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was just the sheer arrogance of it all – that Fred would _expect_ that all the girls in school would like it if he flirted and gave them attention.

She grumbled as she opened her gym locker and began pulling out her hideous gym clothes. Coolsville High School's school colors were blue and white, and while they were perfectly nice colors, Daphne didn't feel as though they were "her" colors.

"My glasses!" came a cry from the other side of the locker bay. Daphne poked her head around to see that poor Velma Dinkley had lost her glasses. No, that wasn't true. Maureen Fischer had _taken_ them and placed them on top of the locker. She and her friends were cackling behind their hands at the fact that not only was Velma too short to reach the top of the lockers, but that she was as blind as a bat without her glasses and didn't even know where Maureen had put them. Velma was on the dirty locker room floor, crawling around on her hands and knees, trying to locate her glasses while Maureen and her friends, Rachael Amora and Phoebe Albion, snickered evilly.

Daphne, who was already feeling annoyed about Fred, Adrienne and Rita, could feel more anger bubbling up inside her. Maureen and her minions tormented poor Velma at least three times a week. Daphne didn't know Velma terribly well, but she had had enough of Maureen being such a bully. So on a rush of adrenaline, Daphne stormed over to where the other girls were, and took the glasses down herself.

"Here," she said, bending over to tap Velma on the shoulder. She helped the smaller girl to her feet and handed the glasses to her. Once Velma had put her glasses on her face where they belonged, Daphne turned to Maureen.

"What the hell, Maureen?"

"Oh come on, Blake," Maureen scoffed like it was no big deal. "We were just having a little fun."

"I'm sick of you being so mean," Daphne growled. Rachel and Phoebe flanked her, standing arms akimbo and glared at Daphne. Daphne would have laughed if she wasn't so furious.

"Why are you even standing up for a dork like Dinkley in the first place?" Phoebe asked. Velma herself had retreated to the other side of the locker bay and began to eavesdrop on the conversation that the other girls were having.

"Yeah, are you Geek Girl's girlfriend now or something?" Rachael sneered. The other girls laughed and Daphne felt her face grow hot.

"Well, she is in the drama club," Maureen snickered. "We should have figured she'd fall for a lesbian!" Maureen's eyes lit up. "It makes perfect sense! Why ELSE would Daphne not want to go out with Fred Jones?"

"Would you just shut up?!" Daphne exclaimed, feeling her face grow redder. Her breathing came in slow and labored as she tried to calm herself down. Maureen and her minions chuckled wickedly, and left for the gym. Daphne slowly counted to ten in her head, and quietly followed them out. After a few moments, Velma ventured out of the locker room too. _See,_ she thought to herself glumly. _I couldn't even stand up for myself then._ _Not strong. Weak. I'm weak._ She shook her head, as though to get rid of the thought. _Well, I can at least thank Daphne Blake for helping me. I should, in theory, have enough of a spine to at least do that._

x.X.x

In the gymnasium, the boys had already dressed down and were waiting for the teacher to come in. Fred had found Shaggy in the locker room and walked out with him to the bleachers.

"So, how are you surviving your first day so far?" Fred asked. He was a bit downhearted because after he had stopped to talk to Adrienne and Rita in the hallway, he'd turned to find that Daphne wasn't there. He figured finding out about Shaggy's first day at school would be a good deterrent from how he was feeling.

"Like, it's been okay so far," Shaggy said. This was true – it had been okay. He'd sat next to a kid in World History named Tony Moretti who seemed pretty cool.

"Oh yeah, I know Tony," Fred said when Shaggy mentioned him. "He's in my chemistry class and-" Fred suddenly broke off as three more girls made their way over to him. The one in the center had chestnut-colored hair. The ones on either side of her were both platinum blonde.

"Hi Fred," the three said in unison. It was almost spooky.

"Hey Maureen," Fred greeted the girl in the center amicably. "Rachael, Phoebe."

"Who're you?" Maureen jerked her head at Shaggy.

"Uh like, I'm Shaggy."

"Ugh," said Maureen in disgust "Gross."

"Like, what?" Shaggy felt confused.

"Shaggy," Maureen repeated. "Like, shagging? Like, the British word for fucking?"

Goddamn, Shaggy's face could pick a time to turn red.

"Uh, like, no." His voice was more confident than he felt. Maybe because he was less embarrassed than mad.

"The new kid's a sexual deviant," Maureen said to her friends, who chortled in response.

Oh for fuck's sake.

"Hey, hey, hey," Fred said, holding his hands up. "That's not true. It's just because of the beard." Fred glanced covertly at Shaggy, as though to confirm.

"Like yeah," Shaggy replied. "It's cuz I hate shaving." He wished he could come up with some other witty retort, but the PE teacher stepped out of his office at that moment.

"Whatever," Maureen rolled her eyes. She gave a coquettish goodbye wave to Fred and she and her friends headed away. Shaggy and Fred watched them go.

"…Like, who the hell was that?" Shaggy whispered. What he really wanted to ask was why this girl who didn't even know him was acting so antagonistic.

"Maureen Fischer," Fred said. He made her name sound like an expletive. "She's…a piece of work. I can't believe Daphne used to be friends with her."

Shaggy's eyes bugged. "Like, WHAT?"

"Back in middle school. They're not friends anymore." Fred shuddered. "I couldn't imagine trying to be friends with a person like Maureen."

"Yeah like, especially cuz Daphne is so nice," Shaggy said. "I talked to her on my way to Algebra and she's like, great."

"Oh yeah, I noticed on your schedule that you had Algebra with her," Fred murmured. Shaggy stared at him, bewildered. How could Fred have possibly known that Daphne was in his Algebra class?

"Do you like, have her entire schedule memorized or something?" Shaggy asked. He'd been joking, but when Fred's face turned red, Shaggy realized it was true. There was an awkward silence between the two.

Meanwhile, Velma had caught up to Daphne. Daphne had been wearing a scowl as she had watched from a distance the interaction between Fred, Shaggy, Maureen and her minions, but her face relaxed and she smiled a bit when she saw Velma.

"Hi there," she grinned. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yep," Velma replied. "Uh…listen, I wanted to thank you for sticking up for me. You didn't have to do that. Believe me if I'd had my glasses I'd have been on her in an instant." Velma grimaced inwardly at the lie. Of course she wouldn't have had the courage to take on Maureen Fischer.

"You don't seem like that kind of girl," Daphne remarked. Apparently, Daphne didn't think Velma had it in her either.

"Yeah well…" Velma finished lamely. The two girls grinned wryly at each other. "Um…I also wanted to tell you that Maureen is completely wrong about me. Well…I guess not about the Geek Girl part. But I'm not a lesbian." Truthfully, Velma had never felt one way or another about her sexuality, but for some reason she felt it was important for her to let Daphne know that she, Velma, was attracted to guys.

Daphne laughed, but it wasn't a laugh of mirth, it was a laugh of compassion. "Don't worry. I know you aren't a lesbian."

"Really?" Velma was shocked. The rumor had been going around since last year, and she would have assumed that Daphne, like everyone else in the school, believed it.

Daphne lowered her voice. "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I noticed the way you looked at the new guy when he walked into homeroom this morning."

Velma blushed. "…You did?"

"Yeah," Daphne replied. "But only because usually you have your nose buried so deep in a book that it was such a switch to see you show interest in the world beyond the story."

Velma gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"So…" Daphne began. "Did you talk to the new kid at all?"

"Yeah," Velma replied. "In Spanish. He told me that he goes by Shaggy."

"Yeah, he's in my Algebra class and asked me to call him Shaggy too," Daphne said. "I think you should ask him out." Velma blinked a couple times behind her glasses.

"…Seriously?"

"Sure!" Daphne replied with a grin. "It would at least dispel the rumors that you're a lesbian." Velma paused. As much as she would love for those rumors to go away, she didn't want to scare Shaggy off. She'd just met the guy, after all. She didn't want to ruin a possible friendship.

"Well...we'll see, I guess," Velma said with a small grin of her own. Coach Warren, the gym teacher, blew his whistle then, and the two girls joined the rest of their gym class on the bleachers.

x.X.x

Back at Shaggy's house, Scooby and Mrs. Rogers had spent the entire morning unpacking, and the dog was completely bushed. He checked the clock. It wasn't even noon yet. He still had three more hours until Shaggy got home from school. Scooby hoped he was doing okay. He wished there was some way he could check on him.

Suddenly, Scooby perked up. _Why not?_ He thought to himself. He had opposable thumbs. He could open the door. Mrs. Rogers was upstairs at the moment. Quietly, Scooby sneaked over to the front door, opened it, and scampered outside. Freedom! Sweet freedom! Although it was abnormally chilly outside. It _was_ January, after all. Scooby shook off the cold feeling as best he could and followed his nose to the high school.

x.X.x

Shaggy did not like Coach Warren. The man was evil. He was bringing them outside to run around the track. Shaggy was actually okay with the running – it was the being outside in the cold that he wasn't fond of. He soon discovered that running helped warm him, though.

He was faster than most of the other kids in his class, but he noticed that Fred was also pretty fast. _He like, does play football_ , Shaggy reminded himself. He was pretty shocked to see that behind Fred, Daphne and Velma were pretty quick themselves. If the gym class was in any danger at all, he, Fred, Daphne and Velma would get to safety faster than anyone else.

_Maybe Scooby would get out of danger pretty quickly_ , Shaggy thought as a brown blur sped past him. Then, he did a double take. _Scooby? Like what's he doing here?_

"Raggy!" the dog cried, turning around once he realized he had passed his master and running back and knocking him off his feet.

"Oof! Like, get off buddy!" Shaggy cried, laughing. He noticed that Fred, Daphne and Velma had stopped running and headed over to where Shaggy was.

"Oh my gosh, I _love_ dogs!" the three of them cried simultaneously, patting Scooby on the head. He turned and smiled at them, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Daphne giggled. "What kind of dog is he?"

"Is he yours?" Velma asked Shaggy, who was still sprawled on the ground.

"What's his name?" asked Fred.

"Great Dane, yes, and Scooby Doo," Shaggy said to each person in turn. They and Scooby all laughed.

"What is going on here?" boomed Coach Warren's voice. He had been on the other end of the track, but now strode over to the kids and Scooby furiously. Shaggy immediately stood up. "Whose dog is this?"

"Like, he's mine Coach Warren," Shaggy said. "He must have like, accidentally gotten out of the house somehow. We're new you know, and like, we're not sure how to work the locks yet." In reality, Shaggy had no idea how Scooby had gotten out, but he hoped this sounded believable. Scooby, for his part, sat next to Shaggy and tried to look like a dog who had accidentally gotten out of the house somehow.

Coach Warren seemed to buy it. "Okay, kid," he said. "I'll let you off cuz you're new. But the dog cannot follow you to school anymore, understand?"

"Like, yes sir," Shaggy said. Coach Warren sighed, then turned to the rest of the class, who had stopped running when Scooby arrived. "All right class. We start our basketball unit tomorrow, so everyone hit the showers." The class headed inside. Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne and Fred dwindled a little as Shaggy introduced Scooby to everyone else.

"Rice ro reet roo!" Scooby barked. The others stared at him.

"…Did he just talk to us?" Daphne asked, a bit concernedly.

"Yep," Shaggy told her. "Like, he's been that way ever since he was a puppy. It makes it pretty easy to communicate with him."

"I bet," Velma remarked. Daphne glanced at her and sent her a message with her eyebrows. Velma knew what Daphne wanted her to do. "Hey Shaggy? And Scooby too, I guess. Um…you guys wanna eat lunch together?"

"Runch!" Scooby cried, smacking his lips. "Roh boy!" Velma giggled.

"I guess that's a yes," she said. Suddenly, Velma was nervous about the prospect of sitting alone with a boy that she might potentially like and his dog. Before she even knew what was happening, she found herself saying, "Daphne, Fred, you wanna eat lunch with us, too?"

"Sure!" Fred said, beaming. "Whaddaya say, Daph?" He winked at her and Daphne felt blood rush to her face. _Because I'm annoyed! I'm flushing from annoyance!_ she told herself firmly.

"Oh why the hell not?" she said, grinning at Scooby. With that, Fred, Shaggy and Scooby headed for the boys locker room while Daphne and Velma headed for the girls locker room. Daphne was going to ask Velma why she'd invited her – and Fred – but she would wait till they were alone.

In the meantime, Shaggy's heart lifted. He had people to sit with at lunch today, Scooby was here, and he may have created a series of friendships from a mutual love of dogs.

"Thanks, Scoob," Shaggy murmured to his pet. He dressed quickly, and then he and Scooby headed for the cafeteria with Fred leading the way.


	3. Getting to Know You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Warning: Shaggy handles marijuana, but doesn't smoke it. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters – they belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 3: Getting To Know You**

"Velma? A word please?" Upon hearing the voice, Velma turned around to see that it belonged to Daphne who was staring at her with an arched eyebrow.

"…Yes?" Velma said tentatively. They had just changed out of their gym uniforms and into their regular school clothes. It was almost lunchtime, and Velma had a pretty good idea of why Daphne was so eager to talk to her.

"Why did you invite me and Fred to eat lunch with you guys? I thought it was just going to be you and Shaggy. And his dog," Daphne added as an afterthought. Velma sighed as she closed her locker and slung her school bag over her shoulder.

She thought about telling the truth. She thought about telling Daphne how she was terrified that she would do or say something that would make Shaggy uncomfortable. She had only had one "relationship" with a boy, and even though it hadn't been serious, that had been the extent of her experience with boys, whether she liked them or not.

But Velma didn't want Daphne to know all this. Not pretty, popular, perfect Daphne Blake. It was embarrassing enough that Velma lacked so much experience not just with boys, but with friends as well. But to have Daphne Blake know it all? It was too humiliating to even think about.

"Well," Velma hedged. "I just think that Shaggy would appreciate it if you guys sat with us. I mean, as far as I know, we're the only one's he's really met. He might feel more comfortable the more of us there are."

"Huh," Daphne said, bemused. "I hadn't thought of it that way."

"That's the only reason I invited Fred, other than just out of politeness," Velma explained. "I know you're not terribly fond of him…I'm not either, to tell you the truth. You didn't have to say yes."

"Well…maybe I kind of wanted to," Daphne said with a small smile. Velma stared at her and Daphne's smile fell. "Not because of Fred!" she exclaimed. "Just because…you know. I've gone to school with you for years and I don't really know you that well and I figured that after the whole Maureen Fischer incident we could become friends or something." While this was partly true, it wasn't the only reason Daphne had said yes to the lunch invitation. But she didn't know what the other reason was, so she simply didn't acknowledge the fact that another reason existed.

Velma was star-struck. Pretty, popular, perfect Daphne Blake wanted to be friends with her? After about twenty seconds of standing there like an idiot, Velma smiled.

"I'd like that," she said. There was a silence. "So…let's go to lunch."

Daphne smiled back. "Okay."

x.X.x

Fred, Shaggy and Scooby had already bought lunch. Shaggy and Scooby had gone to the deli line while Fred went for the hot lunch. They re-emerged from their respective lunch lines and met in between the two.

"Daphne usually brown bags her lunch," Fred said. "I'm not sure if Velma does or not, but we can meet them both in here. Usually Daphne eats in the courtyard but since it's January, she has lunch in the lunchroom."

"You like, seem to know a lot about Daphne," Shaggy couldn't help commenting. Fred sighed.

"If I tell you a secret, will you keep it to yourself?" he murmured.

"Like, I guess so."

"…I kind of like Daphne."

"Uh…" Shaggy began. "Dude…I don't know how to tell you this…but I think she like, might already know."

Fred sighed again. "I've been asking her out since September and she still won't say yes. It's embarrassing."

"Then like, why do you keep asking?" Shaggy wondered. They had reached a table near the back of the cafeteria and sat down.

"Have you ever liked a girl so much that the idea of her dating some other guy made you crazy?" Fred asked him. Shaggy thought. He'd had a few girlfriends back in Vista Heights, but never anything serious.

"Like, I guess not," Shaggy said.

"I don't want Daphne to get swept off her feet by some other guy," Fred told him. "I've known her for years and she's always had guys chasing her…she used to go out with a lot of them. Not in like, a bad way. Just to give them a chance. I don't understand why she won't give _me_ a chance."

Scooby and Shaggy glanced at each other. This was going way over both of their heads.

"Like if I knew how to help you, I would," Shaggy told him. Fred glanced sideways at the tall, skinny boy.

"Can I ask you a question?" Fred asked.

"Like, shoot."

"The thing Maureen said in PE, about your…your name," Fred looked around the cafeteria as though searching for eavesdroppers and lowered his voice. "That's uh…not true, is it?"

"Come on, man! Like, of course not!" Shaggy exclaimed, a little loudly. Scooby stared at him curiously.

Fred nodded quickly. "Yeah, I know. I mean, I figured it wasn't true but…you know. I just thought I'd ask."

Shaggy felt sort of relieved when the girls showed up. There were five seats at the little round table where they sat. Scooby sat between Shaggy and Fred.

Daphne, feeling generous, decided to sit next to Fred so that Velma could sit next to Shaggy. Daphne thought of this as a huge sacrifice. She smiled at Velma as she sat. Velma smiled back, and Fred grinned at Daphne too, although the two grins were for entirely different reasons.

Shaggy felt himself grow a tad warm when Velma took a seat beside him. This puzzled him, so to distract himself he began stacking the sandwiches that he had bought for himself and Scooby. The others gawked.

"…How are you going to fit that entire thing in your mouth?" Daphne asked as she stared at the two sandwiches that towered over her head.

"Like you'll see," Shaggy replied with a smile. "Like, ready Scooby Doo?"

"Ready, Raggy!" Scooby grinned. The two downed the sandwiches in less than fifteen seconds, leaving the others gawking speechlessly at them.

"…Jinkies," Velma said. "I think that was one of the most incredible feats that I've ever witnessed."

"Rank rou!" Scooby said happily. Everyone laughed.

"So Shaggy," Daphne said as the rest of them dug into their lunches. "I don't think I ever learned where you moved from."

"I came from California," Shaggy told her.

"Vista Heights, right?" Velma cut in. "That's what you said in Spanish." Shaggy nodded.

"In Spanish?" Fred looked impressed.

"Not in Spanish like, _habla Español._ I meant we talked about it during class," Velma said. She was about to roll her eyes, but stopped herself.

"Did you guys drive out here?" Fred asked.

"Like, yeah. We've had this giant white van for as long as I can remember, but my parents are each gonna get new cars and then give the van to me so I can like, use it eventually," Shaggy replied. "I'm like, going to paint it this weekend probably."

"When do you get your license?" asked Velma.

"I turned sixteen in November," Shaggy told her. "I got my license like, right before we moved."

"Hey, I turn sixteen later this month!" Fred exclaimed. "Then I'll be legally allowed to drive too!"

"These boys are so old," Daphne muttered to Velma. "I only turned fifteen last month. My birthday is on Christmas, which is kind of a bummer." Velma said nothing. Her birthday was next month, in February. But even so, she'd only be fourteen. Velma hated being so much younger than her classmates.

"Speaking of birthdays, I'm having a party at my place for mine," Fred said. "You're all invited. Even you, Scooby!"

"Ranks, Reddie!" Scooby barked.

"When is it?" asked Daphne.

"January nineteenth," Fred replied. "It's two weeks from Saturday."

Shaggy was beginning to get antsy. He needed a smoke. He hadn't smoked since the previous evening, when he and Scooby had found the twenty dollar bill.

"Hey uh…will you guys like, excuse me for a minute?" Shaggy asked.

"You okay?" Fred wondered.

"Uh…yeah I like, just have to use the bathroom," Shaggy lied easily. "I'll be back soon."

"Rye'll ro roo!" Scooby offered, jumping up.

"Wait! Like Scoob uh…what if a teacher sees you?" Shaggy said. "You better stay here buddy."

Scooby stared at Shaggy. "Rokay," he said pitifully, sitting back down. As Shaggy got up, he reached inside his pocket to make sure the pipe and his baggie were both in there. They were. But when Shaggy retracted his hand, something fell out.

"Shaggy, you dropped something," Daphne said, picking up the thing that had fallen out. "It's a twenty."

"Oh yeah. I like, found that in the woods behind my house last night," Shaggy said. "Pretty lucky, huh?"

"Let me see that," Velma murmured, reaching for the money. She rubbed it between her fingers and inspected it carefully. Suddenly, she stood up.

"Velma, what's wrong?" asked Daphne.

"We need to go to the biology lab," Velma said.

"We can't leave the cafeteria with Scooby," Daphne pointed out. Fred suddenly snapped his fingers, reached into his back pack and pulled out a pair of gym clothes.

"I brought these home to wash during winter break. I forgot to put them back in my locker, so I used my spare ones today. You can borrow them so you can look like a kid," Fred said.

"…Fred, no one is stupid enough to believe that," Velma told him.

"You'd be surprised at the stupidity of some of the people in this school, Velma," Fred told her.

"I already am," Velma muttered under her breath. Only Daphne heard her and giggled.

x.X.x

Much to Velma's surprise, no one stopped them on their way to the biology lab.

"So um…why are we going here again? I don't think we established that," Daphne said.

"I'm pretty sure this twenty is fake," Velma told her.

"What?!" exclaimed Fred, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby all in one voice.

"I can sort of tell by the feel and look of it that it's not real, but I want to double-check," Velma said as they hurried upstairs.

Once they arrived in the biology lab, Velma led them over to a station with a microscope. She placed Shaggy's twenty on the microscope's stage and adjusted the lenses. She pulled a twenty dollar bill out of her own purse and set it next to Shaggy's bill. "Just as I suspected," she stated as she compared the two.

"What?" asked Daphne. Velma moved away so the others could look into the eyepiece.

"Genuine currency paper has tiny red and blue fibers embedded throughout," Velma explained. "Counterfeiters often try to simulate these fibers by printing tiny red and blue lines on their paper. Close inspection reveals, however, that on the counterfeit note the lines are printed on the surface, not embedded in the paper." Velma gestured to the microscope. "See?"

Daphne looked first. "Jeepers!" she exclaimed. "You're right Velma!"

"Let me see!" Fred said, glancing through the eyepiece. Shaggy took his turn next, then Scooby.

"This twenty is one-hundred percent counterfeit," Velma proclaimed.

"And hasn't there been a huge sweep of counterfeit money throughout the town recently?" Daphne wondered.

"Yeah!" Fred said. "My dad says that City Hall is getting swarmed with complaints every day." Shaggy and Scooby looked at him confusedly. "My dad is the mayor," Fred explained.

"Shaggy, where exactly did you find this?" Velma asked.

"Like, it blew in on a wind and hit me in the face," Shaggy said. "But it happened in like, the woods behind my house."

Velma looked crestfallen. "If it blew in on the wind it could have come from anywhere," she said. She looked up at the clock. "Lunch will be over soon. We should get to study hall."

Shaggy was disheartened, first by the fact that the money wasn't real, and also by the fact that he hadn't been able to smoke. In California, he and his friends had used lunch as "pot hour". They headed downstairs and came to a side door to the outside.

"Scooby Doo like, you should go home. Mom'll be wondering, and I don't want you get caught by a teacher," Shaggy said. It pained him to see his best friend leave, but Shaggy felt a little better knowing that he could count on Fred, Daphne and Velma.

"Rokay, Raggy. Ree roo soon!" Scooby said as he trotted off. Shaggy didn't need to worry about Scooby finding his way home – that dog had the greatest nose in the world. Shaggy followed his friends down the hall.

"So is there like, a certain place we're supposed to go for study hall?" Shaggy asked Fred.

"Yeah, each grade has a designated area for study hall," Fred replied. "Freshmen are in the lecture hall, sophomores are in the basement, juniors are in the auditorium, and seniors are in the library. No one takes roll, but you're not supposed to be out in the hallways during study hall. Usually I just take a nap."

"Yes. We can hear you snoring all the way from the other side of the room," Daphne said, half-teasing. Fred looked at her in fake annoyance.

"Well what do YOU usually do for study hall?" he asked.

"I _study_ ," Daphne replied, causing everyone to burst into laughter. Shaggy almost forgot that he was hurting for a smoke. "What about you, Velma? What are you gonna do during study hall?" asked Daphne.

Velma had wanted to study the twenty a little more, but she didn't have the proper tools at her disposal. "I think I'll just read," she replied, taking a thick book out of her back pack and showing it to them.

" _Crime and Punishment,"_ Fred read the title aloud. "By Fy…Fyo…how the heck do you pronounce that guy's name?"

Velma laughed. " _Fio-der_ is the first name. The last name is pronounced _Doe-stow-yev-ski_."

"Is that for like, a class?" Shaggy asked. They four of them were arriving at the stairs to the basement. "Do you take AP English?"

"No, only juniors can take that class," Velma said. "So I'm in regular old English 10 with Daphne and Fred."

"Shaggy's in our English class too," Fred said. "I noticed it when he showed me his schedule earlier today." Velma turned her gaze to Shaggy and her eyes sparkled when she smiled at him. Shaggy felt a lump in his throat.

"Great!" she exclaimed. "What are you going to do during study hall?"

"I, like, don't know yet," Shaggy hedged. He knew very well what he wanted to do – he wanted to sneak out of the basement and smoke. He studied his surroundings as they walked down the long hallway. There were plenty of empty rooms.

"These rooms have been here forever," Daphne said when she noticed Shaggy staring at them. "Nobody ever goes in there."

_Hmm…_ thought Shaggy.

Finally, the four reached the end of the hallway, where there was a large room filled with desks and chairs and computers. There was also a teacher asleep behind the desk.

"Uh, you guys go on ahead," Shaggy said. "I have to like, go to the bathroom,"

"Oh yeah, you never went, did you? We got distracted," Fred said smiling. "Well, we'll be in here when you come out!" With that, Fred and the girls waved and Shaggy left. He fingered the pipe and the baggie. Still there. Excellent. He walked quickly down the hallway and then darted into a room on the left. He closed the door behind him and saw that there was a window on the other side of the room. _Huh. The basement isn't actually underground_ he realized. He opened the window and started to pack the bowl.

As he did, he thought about all of the people he was getting to know. Fred, who was nice but airheaded. Daphne, who was sweet but grouchy (at least, when it came to Fred). Velma, who was brilliant but had a way of making him feel like his stomach was doing backflips just by looking at him. The four of them were certainly different from each other. But who knows? They had a lot of classes together. Maybe they'd become friends. If the girls could get over their dislike of Fred, that is.

He glanced at the now empty baggie. _Maybe like, this is the time to quit,_ Shaggy thought to himself. Somehow, he got the impression that Velma and the others would be disappointed to find out about this habit.

Suddenly, a voice from behind him boomed. "What are you doing in here?"

Shaggy spun around, dropping the pipe, empty baggie, and his lighter out the window, and found himself face-to-face with a large, beefy black man who looked surprised and a little mad. Shaggy gulped.

"Uh…like, sorry sir," Shaggy said. "I like, got lost. I'm new and I'm not sure where my study hall is." Shaggy was disturbed to realize that he was getting so adept at lying.

"What grade are you in, son?" asked the man, eyeing Shaggy suspiciously.

"Like, tenth sir."

"Your study hall's right down that way," the man pointed in the direction that Shaggy had come from.

"Like, thank you sir," Shaggy muttered as he darted out of the room and back down the hall. _Who was that man?_ Shaggy wondered as he returned to the room. He thought about asking someone, but Velma had her nose buried in _Crime and Punishment_ , Fred was sound asleep, and Daphne was taking notes from her AP World History textbook. Shaggy sighed. He'd ask them some other time. He was still feeling antsy about not having been able to smoke, plus worried that he'd left evidence out the window. To keep his mind occupied, he took out a sketch pad from his backpack.

Shaggy had been drawing ever since he'd been able to hold a crayon. Nowadays of course, he used more sophisticated tools, such as charcoal. Today he only had colored pencils, but they would do. He sketched a quick picture of Fred's sleeping face resting on his well-built arms. He drew one of Daphne next, her slender shoulders bent over her notes, her face studious. Next he drew Velma. Petite as she was, Shaggy found her difficult to capture. He got her appearance down perfect; the glasses that were perched upon her slender nose, the handful of freckles that was sprinkled across her cheeks, the brown bob of hair, the bows, the orange sweater, the red skirt, and the book that she was so deeply engrossed in. When he got to her eyes, he stopped. He glanced at her again to make sure that he had drawn her accurately. There was a light in her eyes – she was so rapt in the story that it shone through. Shaggy was struggling with portraying that on paper.

When Velma glanced up from her book and looked at him, Shaggy realized that he was staring at the real Velma and not at the picture he had just drawn. She placed a bookmark in her book and walked over to Shaggy. His tongue felt as if it were about three sizes too large for his mouth.

Velma stared at the picture of her wordlessly. Shaggy didn't dare look into her face. Then, softly, she spoke.

"This is really good," she murmured. "How long have you been drawing?"

"Well like, this one I started about…" Shaggy began, still refusing to look at her. But when she laughed, he stopped speaking and glanced up at her. Her eyes were sparkling again.

"I meant how old were you when you started drawing?" she said.

"Oh. Since I was like, five," Shaggy replied. "I took art classes at school back in California. I like, didn't realize that here you can't take electives until your junior year when you don't have to take PE anymore."

"There's an art club you know," Velma told him. "You just have to talk to the art teacher, Mrs. King, about joining. I'm sure she'd let you in, considering your talent." Velma looked away. "No one's ever drawn a picture of me before." Shaggy thought for a moment, then tapped Velma on the arm and held out the paper to her.

"Like, you keep it," Shaggy said. He usually didn't give away his artwork, but he wanted Velma to have this. As a thank you for all the kindness she'd shown him today – offering to walk him to class, sitting with him at lunch. He certainly liked her, and it seemed as though Daphne and Fred did too. Shaggy smiled winsomely at her and after a moment's hesitation, she smiled back.

"Thanks," she murmured, taking the picture from him.

"Oh wait," Shaggy said, taking the picture back. "I like, forgot one thing." In the bottom right hand corner, Shaggy signed his name with a flourish, then handed the picture back to Velma.

"You're sweet, Shaggy," Velma said softly. His heart thumped wildly in his chest.

Then the bell rang and they had to go to class. But Shaggy went to class feeling lighthearted and breezy.


	4. Ain't No Rest For The Wicked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters – they belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 4: Ain't No Rest For The Wicked**

The rest of the day flew by for Shaggy. His lab partner in chemistry seemed friendly enough, and after English he, Fred, Daphne, and Velma exchanged their contact information and decided to Skype each other around eight that evening to talk more about the mysterious counterfeit twenty.

"Well, I gotta go catch my bus," Fred said. "I'll talk to you guys tonight!" With that, Fred sprinted off.

"See you on Skype!" Daphne called over her shoulder, heading towards a car in the park-and-ride area. Velma and Shaggy were alone.

"Which bus do you ride?" Velma asked.

"Uh…bus 14 was like, the one that picked me up," Shaggy replied. Velma grinned.

"That's my bus," she told him. "Do you live in the Willow Springs neighborhood?"

"Uh…like maybe?"

"Sorry," Velma said. "I keep forgetting you're new. Do you know the name of your street?"

"Um…" Shaggy racked his brain, trying to remember the name of the street. "It's like, a court. Fitz…something or other."

"FitzSimmonds?"

"Like, yeah! That's it!"

"My street is the next one over. I live on Rigby Road." Velma paused before continuing. "Wanna sit together on the ride home?" She felt her face turn red, but looked at him determinedly. _Not weak. Not spineless. I can be strong._

Shaggy looked at her. He felt bad for not letting her walk him to class earlier that day (especially considering that he hadn't even known where to go in the first place), but she made him so nervous! He was terrified he would say something stupid or ignorant and she would think him a fool, like she thought Fred. But he did want to sit with her. It would be nice to have a friend on the bus.

"Uh…sure. Like, that'd be okay," Shaggy said, trying to hide his nervousness. And so the two boarded the bus together. They sat beside each other in silence (Shaggy still felt as though his tongue was so huge he could choke on it) until the bus pulled up to Shaggy's stop. Scooby was waiting for him.

"Say hi to Scooby for me," Velma told him as he got up.

"I will," Shaggy replied with a smile. "Like, hey Velma…thanks. For…you know. Like everything."

Velma grinned back at him. "Anytime," she murmured as he left.

x.X.x

"Raggy!" Scooby jumped on his master the minute his feet touched the pavement.

"Like hey, Scooby Doo!" Shaggy replied happily.

"Row ras rool?"

"School was all right. It like, wasn't awesome but it was like, better than I expected, you know?" Shaggy and Scooby headed for the warmth of the house. Shaggy was _starving_ and he was sure Scooby was pretty ravenous too. None of them had had anything to eat since lunch.

After Shaggy had given his mother brief details on his first day of school ("How was it?" "Oh like, it was fine." "Did you meet anyone?" "A few people." "That's good." "Like, yep."), he and Scooby gorged themselves with most of the food that Mrs. Rogers bought that morning at the store. Scooby, who had been all over town that day (the high school was on the other side of town from where the Rogers' lived), fell asleep on the couch while he and Shaggy watched TV.

After a while, Shaggy realized his friend was asleep, and quietly snuck out the back door. He headed for the woods to see if he remembered where he'd been when the counterfeit twenty had blown into his face. He got turned around pretty quickly. The wind was blowing harder and the sun was setting. It was getting colder. Shaggy decided it was a lost cause, and started to head home. Or, where he thought the direction of home should be. Shivering, Shaggy trudged through the remains of snow, when suddenly he bumped into something. Actually, it was some _one_ – Velma.

"What are you doing out here?" Velma asked him incredulously.

"I thought maybe I could like, remember where I was when I found that twenty," Shaggy told her. There was a question in Velma's eyes, but he answered it before she could ask. "I haven't had any luck. I was actually about to like, try to head home. What are you doing out here?"

"My house is crazy," Velma said. "I always come out to the woods when I need an escape…unfortunately I don't do so well in the cold."

"Like me neither. I really miss that about California – it was like, sunny almost all the time there," Shaggy told her.

"Maybe I ought to move there," Velma said wryly. "I mean, I love snow, don't get me wrong…I just don't love the cold."

"I like, know what you mean," Shaggy told her. There was a silence. "So…you must like, live pretty nearby."

"I told you, I live one street over from you," Velma said smiling. "These are the Willow Springs Woods. They run between Rigby and FitzSimmonds. But they're pretty easy to get lost in. I can help you find your way back to your house."

"Uh…like, thanks Velma," Shaggy said, unsure of what else to do. They walked in silence for a while. "So like, when you say your house is crazy…?"

Velma sighed. "My older sister is pregnant, so she and her husband are staying with us while they search for a place to live. They're both really frazzled from house-hunting and trying to prepare for a baby, and my parents are bending over backwards trying to help them, and my youngest sister is eleven and…just in the way."

"Yeesh. Like, sounds like a fun house," Shaggy said with a note of sarcasm. Velma laughed.

"Sure, if you like a lot of noise." Suddenly, she noticed a figure in the distance. "Oh. Speak of the devil."

"Velma!" said the figure. As it came nearer, Shaggy realized it was the figure of a small girl with glasses and auburn hair that were similar to Velma's, only she wore her hair in pigtails. "Mom needs your help starting dinner." The girl suddenly noticed Shaggy and stopped talking.

"Shaggy, this is my younger sister, Madelyn," Velma said to the boy beside her, oblivious to the fact that Madelyn was staring.

"Hi," Madelyn said shyly. That Velma noticed. Upon looking at her sister, Velma realized the way that Madelyn was looking at Shaggy.

Shaggy noticed too, and became uncomfortable. "Um…like, nice to meet you," he said. The three of them stood around awkwardly.

"Well," Velma said, finally breaking the silence. "I guess we should go help Mom with dinner, huh Madds?"

"What?" Madelyn finally stopped staring at Shaggy to turn her gaze to her sister. "Oh. Yeah. I guess."

"I should like, probably go home for dinner too," Shaggy said. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something. He spun around, but whatever it was had gone.

Madelyn had seen it too. "Did you see that?" she whispered.

"See what?" asked Velma.

"I think something like, moved behind those trees," Shaggy said, nervously pointing. He remembered the feeling he'd had the previous evening, believing someone was lurking in the trees nearby. He wanted to go home.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him from behind. He and the girls whirled around and found themselves face to face with a giant, terrifying monster. It towered over them by at least a foot, and had a grotesque greenish-blue color to it. Its eyes were wicked-looking, tiny, and red, and little scales covered its entire body. It let out a horrifying screech.

Shaggy, Velma and Madelyn screamed.

"Run!" Velma shouted, and the three ran off, darting through the trees. Unfortunately, the monster was in hot pursuit. All those years of running track came in handy as Shaggy sprinted away from it, accidentally leaving Velma and Madelyn behind. Suddenly, he tripped over something.

"Raaah!" cried the thing he tripped over. Shaggy, who was sprawled on his stomach, turned to see what it was.

"Scooby Doo!" he cried, picking himself up. "Like what are you doing out here?"

"Rye rad ro ree," Scooby said. Shaggy realized that he hadn't let his friend out when he arrived home. "Rye rar roo running?"

"There's like, a big freaky monster chasing me, Velma and Madelyn!" Shaggy told him. Suddenly his eyes bugged. "Zoinks! Velma and Madelyn!"

"Roo's Radelyn?" Scooby was confused.

"AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!" came the yells of the two girls as they hurried through the trees trying to get away from the monster. Shaggy and Scooby both turned their heads. When Scooby saw the monster, he let out a terrified yell and jumped into Shaggy's arms.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH! RONSTER!" Scooby cried, hiding his face under his paws. Velma and Madelyn cowered beneath a tree as the monster advanced. Suddenly, Shaggy got an idea.

"Like, quick Scooby Doo!" Shaggy cried, setting the dog down and gathering snowballs. Scooby immediately understood and began doing the same. While neither of them had ever thrown a snowball in their life, their aim was surprisingly spot-on.

WHAP! One snowball hit the monster squarely in the small of its back. Another made contact with its side. Shaggy and Scooby continued pelting snowballs at the horrifying creature until it turned its wicked eyes from Velma and her sister and began advancing towards Scooby and Shaggy. For some reason, Shaggy had not counted on this.

"Like run, Scoob!" Shaggy yelled. The two sprinted away, Velma and Madelyn running close behind. When they reached the edge of the forest, they burst through the trees and into Shaggy's backyard. They turned around when they reached the house…but the monster was nowhere in sight.

"…Where did it go?" Velma wondered, out of breath. The four of them glanced at each other.

"I like, don't know, but I'm gonna go inside. I'm freezing and terrified," Shaggy remarked.

"Ree roo," Scooby agreed. Madelyn looked at her big sister.

"How will we get home? The shortest way back is through the woods."

"We can walk down the street," Velma said. "It's just one street over, Madds. We'll be fine."

"Okay," Madelyn said. She turned to Shaggy. "Thank you for saving me. You're like a knight in shining armor."

Scooby pretended he was coughing so that no one would realize that he was actually laughing. He knew that Shaggy was the most cowardly human on the face of the planet, even if Velma and Madelyn didn't.

"Um…" Shaggy blushed. "Like, thanks, I guess."

"Looks like you're living up to your Spanish name after all," Velma quipped. Shaggy's blush grew deeper, but Velma didn't notice. Scooby noticed though, and gazed in puzzlement at his master. "Come on Madds, let's go home." With that, the two girls waved and headed down the street. Shaggy and Scooby waited until they had turned the corner, then they went inside for dinner.

x.X.x

"Like it was the scariest thing ever," Shaggy was saying later that evening. He was on Skype with his friends, and he and Velma had just finished describing their adventure in the woods.

"That's sounds so creepy," Daphne said with a grimace.

"Yeah," Fred said. He seemed to be deep in thought. "But once you guys were out of the woods, the monster backed off?"

"Yep," Velma said. "It was like he just wanted us out of the woods."

"Well like, I know that I am DEFINITELY not going back in there when there's like, some terrifying monster living there," Shaggy proclaimed.

"Re reither," Scooby agreed from Shaggy's side.

"Where do you think the monster came from?" Daphne said. "I didn't think anything lived in those woods, other than, you know, squirrels and stuff."

"There are a lot of urban myths about the things that live in the forests of Coolsville," Velma said. "Maybe I'll go to the library after school tomorrow and figure it out."

"Why don't we all go?" Fred suggested. "Many hands make light work. Or…you know, something like that."

"Well, I guess if you guys want to help…" Velma began.

"Sure," Daphne said. "If there's something evil living in the woods between your houses, I want to figure out what it is so we can keep you guys safe."

"Like, I don't know guys," Shaggy hedged. The monster's wicked red eyes were burned into his memory. Too many horror movies had tainted him and caused him to be fearful of almost everything. He just wanted to leave whatever it was in the woods alone.

"Come on, Shag," Fred said, his face getting all pixel-y as he shifted. "It'll be a good way for you to get to know Coolsville a little better."

Shaggy sighed. "Like, what do you say, Scooby Doo?"

"Rye rink it's rokay," Scooby said, although he looked pretty scared himself.

"Then it's settled," Fred stated decidedly. "After school tomorrow, we'll all go to the Coolsville Public Library!"

"I should probably log off," Velma said. "I still need to finish my WHAP homework."

"…Your _what?_ " Fred asked, confusedly.

"World History AP," Daphne and Velma said in unison.

"I still need to like, start my homework," Shaggy said.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow in homeroom," Fred said.

"Okay Freddie. Bye!" everyone ad-libbed and logged off. Shaggy sat staring at his computer for a few moments before getting up to start his Algebra homework.

But he couldn't help thinking about their trip to the library the next afternoon. _Like, what have I gotten myself into?_


	5. Uptown Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Warning: some language. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters – they belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 5: Uptown Girl**

The next morning, Shaggy awoke to a strange sort of sunlight in his room. Reluctantly climbing out of bed, he walked to his bedroom window to find a fresh blanket of snow covering the backyard. Apart from the sludgy gray remnants around town, Shaggy had never seen snow in his life. But this perfect, white blanket covering the ground was absolutely breathtaking. Shaggy quickly dug through some of the boxes that he had not yet unpacked and pulled out the brand new snow gear that his parents had bought him before they left California. Suddenly, his phone buzzed with a call from Velma. Shaggy answered.

"It snowed last night!" Velma exclaimed.

"Like yeah, I can see it from my window!" Shaggy said.

"There's no school," Velma told him. "I just checked the school's website. Have you gone sledding before?"

"Like nope," Shaggy said. "I have like, snow boots and stuff though."

"I'll be at your house in fifteen minutes," Velma told him happily. "I'm going to show you and Scooby the best time of your lives!" With that, Velma hung up. Shaggy turned to Scooby, who was still asleep on the foot of the bed.

"Like, Scooby Doo!" Shaggy exclaimed, gently shaking his friend. "Wake up! It like, snowed!"

"Really?" Scooby jumped up and bolted for the window. "Roh roy!" he barked happily. He sprinted back to Shaggy and the two headed downstairs. They made themselves a huge breakfast of waffles and bacon and sausages and orange juice which they finished in about two minutes. After they ate, Shaggy put on his snow clothes and left a note for his parents.

_Like, dear Mom and Dad,_

_Since there's no school, I'm hanging out with a friend. I like, have my phone, and Scooby Doo is with me._

_Love, Shaggy._

By the time he'd finished the note, he could see Velma at the end of the cul-de-sac. "Like come on, Scooby Doo. Let's go meet her," he said.

"Rokay!" Scooby barked joyfully. The two headed outside and met Velma at the end of the cul-de-sac. She was holding a long orange sled.

"You guys are gonna love sledding," Velma exclaimed. "There's a huge hill a couple streets away that's great for it." The three of them made their way there to find that several kids – of all ages – were already at the hill, including a couple that they knew. Tony Moretti, from Shaggy's history class, was there, and he waved when he saw them.

"Hey, Dinks! Hey new kid!" Tony called out in his New York accent as he headed over to them. Shaggy had introduced himself to Tony the previous day, but Tony had continuously called him "new kid" during the entire class period. Now, Shaggy just shook his head and smiled.

"Hey Tony," Velma replied. She turned to Shaggy. "Shaggy, this is Tony. He's my…chemistry lab partner."

Did Shaggy imagine it, or had Velma paused before she said "chemistry lab partner?"

"Like, Tony sits next to me in world history," Shaggy said.

"Didn't know you knew each other!" Tony smiled winsomely at them, and Shaggy couldn't help but grin back. Tony was extremely friendly, and easy to get along with.

"Yeah, like, Velma and I have a few classes together," Shaggy replied.

"Nice dog," Tony said, holding his hand out for Scooby to sniff. "He yours, new kid?"

"Like yep, this is Scooby Doo."

"Rello!" said Scooby. Tony didn't even seem taken aback – he just laughed.

"Well I'll be damned. I never seen a talking dog before." Suddenly he turned as a group of boys called his name. "Oh, those are my pals. Talk later, guys! Nice meeting you, Scooby Doo!" Tony waved over his shoulder as he headed towards his friends. Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby waved back.

"Like he's a nice guy," Shaggy commented.

Before Velma could respond, she noticed Daphne walking towards them grinning.

"Oh hey, it's Daphne!" They waved as she approached them.

"Hey guys! You here to do some sledding?" asked Daphne. Shaggy noticed that she held a purple circular sled.

"Shaggy's never been sledding before, can you believe that?" Velma told her. "He and Scooby have never even seen snow."

"Oh you poor deprived children," Daphne said, pouting. "We'll have to fix that." She grinned again, but her face clouded over a little when she looked off into the distance. Velma, Shaggy and Scooby turned to see Fred Jones heading towards them.

"Like, hey Freddie," Shaggy said, hoping that if he ignored Daphne's grimace, it would go away.

"Hey! I didn't expect to see you guys here," Fred said. "Going sledding?"

"Yep," Daphne replied, not quite looking at Fred. He didn't notice, or if he did, he didn't acknowledge it.

"Awesome!" Fred cried. "Velma, looks like you brought a sled big enough for all five of us."

"Yeah," Velma replied. She jerked her head towards the imposing hill. "Let's walk up." They climbed the hill, trying to stay out of the path of people sledding down. When they reached the top, Velma turned to Shaggy and Scooby.

"All right, here's what we do," Velma said. "Fred, why don't you be in the back since you're the biggest? I'll be in the front. Then Shaggy can be behind me, then Scooby, then Daphne." They sat in that order. Velma turned around to face Shaggy for a moment. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled at him.

"You may want to hold on to the person in front of you," she told everyone. Fred placed his hands on Daphne's waist. To her surprise, his grasp on her was gentle. She relaxed under his touch and took hold of Scooby. Velma felt herself blush as Shaggy wrapped his arms around her midsection, and Shaggy turned red as well. Only Scooby was not feeling any strange emotions, and he would have been too excited to care anyway.

"Ret's ro!" he barked joyfully.

"Give us a push, Freddie!" Velma called. Fred took one arm off of Daphne so he could push them off, then put it back rapidly as the sled began to move.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Down the hill they slid, the snow flying up in arcs in their wake. Shaggy felt the wind in his face, cold and refreshing.

"Ra-hoo!" he heard Scooby shout from behind him.

"Wheeeeeee!" Daphne yelled. Suddenly, they bumped over a groove in the snow and all went flying off of the sled. Velma tumbled onto her stomach and laughed. Shaggy and Scooby landed a few feet away from her. Fred was still holding onto Daphne, so he took her with him as he fell. Daphne landed with a soft _thump_ on her back, and Fred came down on top of her. He picked himself up with his hands so he wasn't crushing her. She laughed.

"Oh man!" she cried. "That was a blast!" Fred started laughing too. After a while, their laughter slowed and they just stayed there, Fred looking down at Daphne. Daphne's heart skipped several beats.

She'd never been in a close enough proximity to Fred to really notice how blue his eyes were. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at him.

Shaggy and Scooby glanced at each other and snickered. Velma got up and began running back up the hill.

"Come on you guys!" she shouted. "Let's do it again!"

Velma's voice brought Daphne and Fred back to reality and Fred quickly got up. He offered a hand to Daphne. Normally, she wouldn't have taken it. But something changed, and she grinned as he helped her up.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"Of course," Fred replied.

"Guys!" Velma, Shaggy and Scooby were already halfway up the hill and were waiting impatiently. Fred and Daphne shot each other shy grins, then sprinted after their friends.

x.X.x

They continued sledding until they got hungry.

"Let's go to the malt shop," Freddie suggested. "They have killer hot chocolate during the winter. You been there yet, Shaggy?"

Shaggy hadn't even known that there _was_ a malt shop.

"You're gonna love it," Fred promised him. "It's not too far away." They headed for the warmth of the malt shop and found that several people were already there. They snagged a small booth that the five of them fit in easily. Fred was pleased to realize that Daphne sat beside him – on her own accord! Velma took a seat next to her, then Shaggy, then Scooby Doo on the end.

"Does Scooby drink hot chocolate?" Daphne asked Shaggy.

"Like Scooby Doo eats and drinks _everything_ ," Shaggy told her. Everyone laughed as a tall blonde-haired waitress approached their table. Her name tag said 'Molly' and she grinned, revealing braces.

"Can I take your order?" she asked.

"Five hot chocolates, please," Fred told her. Molly nodded and headed for the kitchen. Fred was about to say something to the group when a group of young girls passed by and one of them stopped.

"Hi Velma!" she said. Velma realized it was her sister Madelyn.

"Hey Madds," she said with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Me and my friends are gonna go sledding," she explained.

"My friends and _I_ ," Velma corrected Madelyn's grammar. Madelyn stuck her tongue out at Velma and the others laughed. Velma introduced her friends to Madelyn, and when Madelyn realized that Shaggy was there, she immediately put her tongue back in her mouth.

"Hi Shaggy," she said shyly.

"Like, hi Madelyn," he responded. Daphne noticed the way Madelyn looked at Shaggy and snickered. Scooby did the same. The scene completely went over Fred's head.

"Madelyn!" Madelyn turned to see that her friends were waiting for her by the door. She sighed.

"I guess I better go. See you soon, hopefully. Bye, Velma!"

"Bye, Madds!" Velma said as the girls left the malt shop. Right then, Molly returned with their hot chocolates.

"Enjoy!" she said as she left. They sipped their hot chocolates in comfortable silence for a while until Velma turned to Shaggy.

"So I think my sister's got a crush on you," she told him with a slight smile. Fred stared at Velma.

"Nuh-uh!" he cried. "Seriously?" He seemed legitimately confused.

Daphne found this statement and the perplexed expression on his face so amusing that she burst into laughter, with Velma, Shaggy and Scooby following close behind. After a while, Fred joined in, too.

"Oh, Fred," Daphne sighed once the laughter died down. "You've still got a little to learn about girls. Do you not notice that every single girl in the hallway looks at you the way Madelyn was looking at Shaggy just now."

"Not _every_ girl," Fred said. "Not ones that matter, anyway. You don't look at me." That hung in the air for a while until Fred blushed and hurried to think of something else to say. "And…um…you know…neither does Velma."

"I'm attracted to a brainier kind of guy. No offense, Freddie," Velma said, amused at the embarrassed expressions on Daphne's and Fred's faces. Again, Shaggy felt himself deflate a tad.

"So um…weren't we going to try to do something today? Some kind of research or something?" Daphne blurted, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Um. Yes. Yes we were," Fred replied, shaking himself. "We wanted to do some research on the Willow Springs Woods."

"Oh boy," Shaggy sighed. "Like, can't we just let well enough alone?"

"But the situation in the woods _isn't_ good, Shaggy," Velma said. "I want to figure out what that thing living between our houses is, don't you?"

"Like not really," Shaggy admitted.

"Re reither!" Scooby vehemently agreed, finishing his hot chocolate.

"Well, I do," Velma said with a scowl.

"Let's go then! The library's only a short walk from here!" Fred said. Molly arrived to see how they were doing, and Fred asked for the checks.

"Separate bills?" she clarified.

"Yes," said Fred, Shaggy and Velma before they remembered that none of them had their wallets.

If this had happened on a date (which it had, a couple times), Daphne would have been annoyed. But these people were her friends. She smiled. "I got it covered." Everybody stared at her.

"Daph, we can't let you pay for our stuff," Velma said. "That's not fair."

"Don't sweat it!" Daphne smiled at her friends as Molly left. "You guys are my friends. Besides – I'm an uptown girl."

That was absolutely true, thought Fred.

Pretty, popular, perfect Daphne Blake. With her lustrous red hair and dazzling eyes, trendy clothes and huge mansion, she was definitely upper-class. But she didn't let her parents' wealth define her. She made her own money. She was the best babysitter in town, and a lot of people hired her. She also got straight A's in school and, well, she had been a lead in the school musical last semester. Daphne was a hard worker, diligent student, talented thespian, and kind-hearted girl.

She was an uptown girl, but she liked hanging out with the downtown kids.

Fred couldn't help but remember the moment they'd shared on the sledding hill earlier that afternoon. She'd looked at him with something different in her eyes. He remembered how his heart swelled when he looked at her. He wondered how she'd been feeling during that moment.

Molly returned with the check and Daphne paid the bill, even though everyone was truly embarrassed.

"We'll, like, pay you back, Daphne," Shaggy began, but she waved her hand, cutting him off.

"Forget about it," she told him with a smile. "I'm feeling rich since I've been doing so much babysitting. Something about the winter makes parents want to go out on dates for some reason."

"Probably because their kids have cabin fever and the parents need to get away," Velma remarked. The others laughed. They left the malt shop and headed for the library.


	6. Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters – they belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera. All information on the Wendigo comes from Monstropedia.

**Chapter 6: Ghost**

Unlike the malt shop, there was hardly anyone at the Coolsville Public Library that afternoon. There were only a few studious individuals tapping away silently on laptops, and even fewer people browsing the bookshelves. The giggles of young children came from the storytime room, but otherwise, the library was quiet.

"Come on." Velma led the way to the section of the library called "the morgue", where all the old newspapers were kept. No one in the library seemed to notice that they were sneaking over there with a dog.

"How do we even know what sort of article we're supposed to look for?" Daphne asked as she sat at one of the research computers and Velma started flipping through slides of microfiche. She handed each of the boys' heavy volumes of newspapers.

"Just look for things pertaining to strange goings-on in the woods," Velma said as she adjusted the lens over a slide. They scrolled and flipped silently for a while until she said, "Jinkies!"

"What is it?" asked the others.

"Listen to this," Velma said and she read the headline aloud. "'Local Realtor Gone Missing in Willow Springs Woods.'"

Everyone gathered around the machine to read over her shoulder.

"'45-year-old real estate agent Paul Reynolds disappeared last Wednesday, October 17th, near his home in the Willow Springs housing development. He was last seen by his wife, Amber, running into the forest behind FitzSimmonds Court.'" she read.

"Like that's where we live, Scoob," Shaggy moaned.

Velma continued. "'Sheriff Bronson Stone has commented that there are no leads, but several residents believe he has been spirited away by the long forgotten Wendigo of Willow Springs.'"

"The _what_ -digo?" Fred asked. Daphne sat back down at her computer and typed the word into the database.

"Jeepers!" she exclaimed. "Look at this!"

"Rook rat rut?" asked Scooby. Everyone abandoned the microfiche and scurried over to Daphne.

"It says here that a Wendigo is a mythical creature that appears in Algonquian mythology," Daphne told them. Then, reading aloud, "'It is a malevolent, cannibalistic spirit into which humans could transform, or which could possess humans.'"

"Like, yikes!" Shaggy exclaimed. "And one of those is like, living in the woods behind my house?" He turned to his dog. "Just our luck, huh Scooby Doo? We WOULD move onto the only haunted neighborhood in the entire town of Coolsville."

"Reah," Scooby replied, looking terrified.

"Willow Springs is definitely not the only haunted neighborhood," Fred commented. Shaggy and Scooby turned to look at him.

"Like, say that again," Shaggy said.

"There are lots of legends about Coolsville, like Velma said yesterday," Fred told him. "It comes with the territory of being a small town. There are all kinds of weird and creepy stories about haunted houses and witches that live in the woods and ancient burial grounds and abandoned factories and –" Fred broke off when he noticed how petrified Scooby and Shaggy looked.

"So this Wendigo is a monster that instills a desire for human flesh inside other humans?" Daphne stated, bringing everyone back to the task at hand.

"It's not a monster – it's the _spirit_ of one," Velma reminded her, pointing to that line of text on the computer screen.

"Great, so it's like, the _ghost_ of a monster," Shaggy sighed.

"Maybe we should go check out the woods and see if we can find it," Fred said.

"RUT?!" Scooby barked, his eyes wide with fear.

"Freddie, did you like, not hear _anything_ Velma and Daphne were saying?" Shaggy asked. "It's like, the _ghost_ of a _monster_ that makes people _want to eat other people!_ "

"Are there any precautions we can take?" Velma asked. She didn't really believe in monsters per se, but she had seen it too, and besides, wanted to make Shaggy feel better. "You know, hold a clove of garlic up in its face or something?"

"That's what you do for like, vampires," Shaggy muttered. Daphne scrolled through the web page and frowned.

"There doesn't seem to be anything," she said slowly. "Wait, here we go! Powers and weaknesses!" She began to read from the middle of the article. "' Among the Wendigo's host of supernatural abilities, the Wendigo Fever is perhaps the most feared. It is a terrible curse, overtaking the mind and body of the unfortunate victim. The first symptom of the curse is a strange scent, detectable only to the intended victim. After absorbing this disturbing odor, the victim experiences a long night of weeping and horrifying nightmares. Upon awakening, the victim experiences a burning pain in the legs and feet, which becomes so intense that the victim runs into the forest, shrieking like a maniac, and discarding clothing and shoes all the while. Most of the curse's victims never return, although those who do return are irrevocably insane from their experiences of the curse and the Wendigo itself. It is thought that most of the curse's victims are devoured by the Wendigo.'"

"Um…like, not helping, Daph," said Shaggy, who was already terrified out of his wits. Scooby was cowering under the desk.

"You think that's why Paul Reynolds never returned?" Fred asked. "Because he had Wendigo Fever?"

"I don't know…" Daphne said softly. "Ah, here we go! 'Despite the beast's immeasurable amount of power, there are ways to protect oneself from the Wendigo. If one is hunting this creature, a fire must be kept burning at all times. This will deter the Wendigo from attacking, but only for so long. If burned, the wounds will quickly heal and will only make the beast angry.'"

"Groovy," said Shaggy in a very un-groovy tone.

"There's more," Velma said, reading over Daphne's shoulder. "' Headphones or earplugs must be used to block out the beast's maddening shrieks. However, one's surest defense and greatest chance of survival during the Wendigo's attack is a firearm loaded with silver bullets, and a silvered blade (such as a sword or a knife).'"

"Do any of us _have_ silver bullets or a silver blade?" Fred wondered.

"Dottie's husband hunts," Velma said. "I'm not sure if he has silver bullets."

"Who's Dottie?" asked Daphne.

"Oh. My older sister," Velma replied. She kept forgetting that these people were brand new friends of hers. She didn't know anything about their families either.

"Maybe we ought to hold off on searching for it, then," Fred said. "I don't exactly feel comfortable going into the forest with guns and a fire."

"We don't need guns – just silver," Daphne said.

"Not unless we want to get rid of it for good," Velma said, reading over Daphne's shoulder again. "Then we need a silver stake to drive through its heart and a silver-plated axe to dismember the creature, and then we need to burn the pieces or hide them in different locations that are inaccessible. And we need to lock the heart in a silver box and bury it on holy ground, like a churchyard."

"This is way too complicated," Fred said. "We better find out if that thing in the woods even _is_ a Wendigo before we try any of this stuff."

"Like how do we do that if we don't go looking for it?" asked Shaggy.

"Can I help you kids with anything? We'll be closing soon." A librarian approached them, though she didn't look like any librarian Shaggy had ever seen. For one thing, her hair was blue, and her nose was pierced. A tattoo peeked out on her wrist from under her long sleeves. Shaggy couldn't tell what it was. A dragon maybe? Whatever it was, this was definitely the coolest librarian Shaggy had ever seen. However, she noticed Scooby then and narrowed her eyes at him. "And our policy states that dogs aren't allowed in the library unless they're trained service animals."

"Uh…like, he is," Shaggy improvised. "He's like, uh…my emotional support dog." Scooby nodded his head and sat down, trying to look like a well-trained service animal.

"Hi Jennifer," said Velma. Of course Velma was on a first-name basis with the librarian.

"Oh, Velma!" The librarian, Jennifer looked less annoyed suddenly. "It's good to see you. It's been awhile."

"Yeah," said Velma. "Hey, these are my friends, Shaggy, Scooby, Daphne, and Fred."

"Fred Jones?" Jennifer arched an eyebrow. "The mayor's son?"

"Uh…guilty." Fred grinned sheepishly.

"Hey Jennifer," Velma said. "You've lived in Coolsville your whole life, right?"

"Yes."

"Could you answer some questions for us about about the Willow Springs Woods?"

"Ahh…you mean the legend of the Wendigo?" Jennifer said. Shaggy gulped.

"L-l-l-like, how did you know?" he stammered.

"There's honestly nothing of interest in those woods other than the Wendigo," Jennifer replied with a shrug. "Plus, I can see the webpage you have open on the computer, and the newspaper article about real estate agent in the microfiche." She pointed to Velma. "You're the one operating that, right?"

Velma nodded.

"Good." Jennifer nodded her approval, then turned back to the group at large. "Back in the seventeenth century, the Iroquois Native Americans lived in these woods. Coolsville used to be just a mass of oak and pine trees, you know."

"Hold on a second," Velma interrupted. "I thought the Wendigo was an Algonquian myth, not Iroquois."

"That's true," Jennifer said. "But after a devastation of epidemics and wars in the mid-1600s, the land became repopulated by Algonquian-speaking descendants."

"Jeepers," Daphne murmured.

"Unfortunately, legend had it that the Algonquians came looking for refuge from a terror that had struck them back in their previous location," the librarian continued. "You see, the winter had been so frigid that several Algonquians froze to death. The surviving people couldn't find any food, so as a means of a last resort, they took to consuming their deceased."

"…So like, they ate the dead people?" Shaggy said.

"Yes," Jennifer replied. "According to Algonquian legend, the spirit of a Wendigo is born when humans resort to cannibalism. When the Algonquians moved to Ohio, the Wendigo followed. Several people believe that it still roams the Willow Springs Woods." She looked closer at the gang. "Does anyone live in Willow Springs?"

"Not me," Daphne said. "I'm all the way over on Fordham Street."

"Me neither," said Fred. "I live on Weston Drive."

"I do," Velma murmured. "Rigby Road."

"Like, us too. We're on FitzSimmonds Court," Shaggy replied, gesturing to Scooby and himself. There was a long pause as Jennifer let all this information sink in.

"How come we've never heard about this legend until recently?" Fred wondered.

"There was a long while when the Wendigo hadn't made any attacks," Jennifer told him. "But a couple months ago, when that realtor disappeared in those woods, all the legends came back to the surface."

"Right! Paul Reynolds!" Velma looked at the librarian. "Do you know anything more about that?"

"No, but his wife might."

"Maybe we should go talk to her," Fred suggested. Everyone agreed and cleaned up after themselves. As the gang left the library, Jennifer stopped Velma, Shaggy and Scooby.

"Be careful," she told them. "Mr. Reynolds is not the first person to go missing in those woods. I don't want a couple of kids to be next. Do not go into that forest alone, and _never_ at night."

"Thanks Jennifer," Velma said a bit warily. She didn't believe that monsters and ghosts existed – she was too analytical and rational to believe such things – but she was beginning to feel a little concerned about this legend.

x.X.x

The walk to Shaggy's neighborhood was rather treacherous. The gang walked carefully, trying their best to avoid the slippery ice. At one point, Daphne lost her footing and fell backwards. Fred had been walking behind her and, on instinct, reached out to catch her. He hooked his arms under hers with her back up against his chest. She wasn't wearing a hat – just earmuffs – and he could smell her lilac scented hair pressed up against his nose.

They stayed that way for a few moments until Velma (who, along with Shaggy and Scooby, was watching this scene unfold) very unsubtly cleared her throat and Daphne stood up straight and Fred quickly took a step back. They glanced at each other shyly.

"So you do really think that the monster living in the woods behind Velma's and Shaggy's houses is a Wendigo?" Daphne asked as a means to change the subject. They continued walking.

"I don't know. Jennifer certainly seemed to think so," Fred replied, trying to appear casual.

"Well like, I definitely think we should listen to her and _not_ go looking for the monster," Shaggy stated.

"Ree roo!" Scooby agreed.

"We're not quite up to that yet, guys," Fred said. "For right now, let's just talk to Paul Reynold's wife."

"Or widow, as the case may be," Velma remarked.

"I just thought of something," Daphne said as they turned into the cul-de-sac. "How will we know which house is the Reynolds'?"

"Wow, Shag! Is that your house?" Fred pointed to the large house at the end of the cul-de-sac. It wasn't quite as big as his (or Daphne's), but it was very decent-sized.

"Like, yep," Shaggy replied.

"Uh…Fred?" Daphne wanted her question answered.

"Oh. Uh…I hadn't really thought about it," Fred said embarrassedly.

"Well, maybe their name will be on the mailbox," Velma said as they approached a house a few doors down from Shaggy's. She pointed at the mailbox and sure enough, the name "Reynolds" was written on it.

"That was remarkably easy," Fred commented.

"Yeah…" Shaggy was getting nervous. He wasn't exactly a fan of knocking on strangers' doors. He looked to his dog, who whimpered pitifully. "Like, it's okay, Scooby Doo. Maybe nobody'll be home."

"Reah," Scooby replied, unconvinced, but willing to accept this as a source of comfort. The five of them gathered on the front porch as Fred knocked.

"Nobody home," Shaggy said after a few moments. "Too bad. Ah well, let's, like, go back to the malt shop."

But suddenly the door opened, and a woman who looked about forty or so answered the door, smiling kindly at them.

"Hello," she said politely. She shivered as a gust of wind blew in from outside. "Gracious it's cold out there. Why don't you come on in?" She stepped to the side and beckoned for them to enter. With suspicious glances at each other, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby walked into the warmth of the house.


	7. Bad Reputation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Warning: some language. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters – they belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 7: Bad Reputation**

"Mrs. Reynolds, I presume?" Velma asked as she and her friends tentatively stepped into the foyer of the large house.

"Please dear, call me Amber," Mrs. Reynolds told her. Velma shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She wasn't comfortable calling adults by their first names. "May I inquire about your names?"

"My name is Fred Jones," Fred spoke up, taking control. "These are my friends Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, Shaggy Rogers, and Scooby Doo. We're very sorry to barge in on you like this-"

"Nonsense," Mrs. Reynolds said, waving her hand dismissively as she led them into the kitchen. "I've been so lonely these last few months. I enjoy the company. Would you kids like anything? I was just making tea." Shaggy glanced around her kitchen to find a steaming kettle on the stove. He also spied a tofu cookbook open on a counter nearby.

"That's all right, ma'am," Fred politely declined. Shaggy and Scooby were both starving of course, but they didn't say anything. Mrs. Reynolds poured herself a cup of tea and led the kids into the next room.

"Please sit," she said, gesturing towards the two sofas as she took a seat in a rocking chair. The kids looked at each other. Shrugging, Daphne and Fred sat on one sofa while Velma and Shaggy took the other. Scooby sat at his master's feet.

"Now," Mrs. Reynolds said as she took a sip from her mug. "What brings you to my house?"

"Well…" Fred wasn't quite sure how to go about this. He didn't want to come right out and say 'We have some questions about the disappearance of your husband a few months back'. But his pause gave Mrs. Reynolds her answer.

"You're here to inquire about my husband, aren't you?"

They looked at her sheepishly.

"We're not the first ones, are we?" asked Daphne.

Mrs. Reynolds sighed. "Ever since he disappeared, I've been badgered by reporters, hounding me with endless questions. They stopped coming a while ago, though."

"We don't mean to bother you with this sensitive subject," Velma began. "We're just doing a school project about urban myths." She said the lie so easily that Shaggy wondered if she had come up with it beforehand.

"Please don't worry, dear," Mrs. Reynolds said. "I believe that everyone in this town ought to know what that frightening creature in the woods is, so they can stay away."

"So then…you think that the thing in the woods is like…" Shaggy trailed off.

"A Wendigo?" Mrs. Reynolds finished his sentence for him. "Dear, I _know_ it's a Wendigo."

"How can you be sure?" Daphne said in disbelief.

"Wait here." Mrs. Reynolds got up and left the living room. She returned a few moments later with a piece of paper that looked as though it had been printed off of a website. She showed it to the gang.

The picture on the paper displayed the image of a man standing the middle of a pine forest, snow hanging off of the branches. In front of the man stood a horrifying, grotesque-looking monster with tiny glowing red eyes. Scooby, Shaggy, and Velma gasped.

"Like that's it!" Shaggy cried. "The Wendigo!"

Mrs. Reynolds flashed her eyes at them. "Have you seen it?"

"Yesterday," Velma admitted. "Shaggy just moved to this neighborhood and he was exploring the woods behind his house and we ran into it…"

"The Willow Springs Woods?" Mrs. Reynolds turned around to look out of the large bay window that faced the trees of the forest. "That forest has such a bad reputation because of the Wendigo. That's where my Paul disappeared."

"Could you tell us more about that?" Fred asked her. "About the day he disappeared? If it's still a touchy subject…"

"No, I suppose it's good for you kids to know. Especially for those of you who live here." She glanced pointedly at Shaggy before continuing. "One evening, Paul had been in the woods, trying to decide if we could expand our property. But he ran into the Wendigo. He just barely escaped, but the Wendigo had swiped at him left a mark. The next day, he began complaining of an awful stench. I couldn't smell anything, but he smelled it wherever he went. That evening, he kept waking up from terrifying nightmares that he couldn't bring himself to describe. Neither of us slept well that night, but when morning came, he began screaming that his legs were on fire and leapt from the bed. It was mid-October, so the leaves had changed color and the air was crisp and cool, but Paul didn't even take a jacket. I ran outside after him and found him in the middle of the forest, removing his clothes and shoes. I tried to stop him, but it was no use. He ran shrieking into the trees, and that was the last time I saw him. I searched for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere. It was then that I realized that Paul must have had Wendigo Fever and had been cursed by the beast." Mrs. Reynolds paused in her monologue to take a sip of tea and clear away some tears that were gathering in her eyes. The teens and Scooby glanced at each other. "I fear that the worst has become of my husband."

"What do you mean?" asked Daphne. Mrs. Reynolds took out the picture again.

"What do you think those are?" She pointed to the tiny red spots that covered the monster.

"Are they like, scales?" asked Shaggy. That had been his original assumption the other evening.

"No, dear," Mrs. Reynolds said gravely. "Those are flecks of human blood. The legend is that-"

"Those cursed with Wendigo Fever are devoured by the beast," Velma finished her sentence. She remembered that from the research they'd done in the library. "Do you think…we're at risk? I mean, three of us did see it yesterday. And my sister saw it, too."

"Did it touch any of you?" asked Mrs. Reynolds.

"No," Velma replied.

"Then I don't think you have anything to worry about. Besides, if you had Wendigo Fever, you should be showing symptoms by now. But you should stay out of those woods. The Wendigo has your scent now, and he may want revenge for you finding his hiding place. They say that the Wendigo only appears when the weather turns cold, but even when the weather gets warmer, I don't want you meeting the same fate as my husband." She turned to look out the bay window again. "It's getting dark. You may want to go home before your parents worry."

"Zoinks! It's like, dinner time, Scoob!" Shaggy exclaimed. He caught sight of the analog clock that hung over the fireplace and saw that it was six o'clock.

"Well thank you for answering our questions, Mrs. Reynolds," Fred said as he and the others stood up.

"Please call me Amber," she said again with a small smile. "And of course. Everyone should know what that fearsome thing in the woods is. I will do whatever it takes to protect the good people of Coolsville from that horrible creature."

"Ma'am?" asked Daphne. She had already wandered back into the kitchen and discovered the tofu cookbook. Mrs. Reynolds gave a sad smile.

"Paul was a vegetarian, and he loved tofu," she explained. "I used to hate the stuff, but now I can't get enough of it. I cook with it every day. The scent of it reminds me of my Paul…and it comforts me."

x.X.x

As soon as they had left the Reynolds' house, the others walked Shaggy and Scooby home.

"She seemed to know a lot about the Wendigo," Velma said.

"Well sure," Daphne said. "If some huge monster had eaten my husband, I'd want to find out as much as I could about it. Where do you think she got that picture, though?"

"It looked as if it had been printed off of the Internet," Fred replied. "Was that what the thing that you guys saw in the woods last night looked like?"

"Like, it was the exact same thing, man," Shaggy gulped. The five were now standing on the porch, and the sun was going down.

"Daph and I will make sure Velma gets home safely," Fred said. "You two go on inside, and we'll see you in homeroom tomorrow."

"Like Velma, could you just like…you know…shoot me a text when you get home? Just so like…I know you made it?" Shaggy felt himself turn red.

"Sure," Velma said, also blushing. Daphne grinned. Scooby furrowed his brow in puzzlement. Fred looked clueless.

"And um…you guys, too," Shaggy said to Fred and Daphne.

"Yeah, no problem Shag," Fred said. The three walked off of the Rogers' porch as Shaggy and Scooby turned to the door and went inside.

Mrs. Rogers was waiting for him. The table was set and she was about ready to serve dinner.

"Like, hi Mom," Shaggy said. "Hi, Dad,"

"Hello, Norville," they said in unison. His mother looked annoyed and his father looked anxious. Shaggy and Scooby looked at each other. Usually when his parents looked like that, it meant Shaggy was going to get a lecture. Shaggy tried to think about what they could be mad about as he fed Scooby.

 _Um…let's see, I left a note before I went with Velma, I kept my phone on, so they can't be mad about either of those things…maybe they're like, angry because I didn't call. Or…zoinks! Maybe they figured out I smoked the other day!_ Shaggy tried to think of what he could say to them. However, midway through dinner, Shaggy finally realized what was actually bothering his parents. Or, his mom, at any rate.

"Norville, who were those kids you were with this afternoon?"

"Oh. Like, those are my friends from school," Shaggy replied, his mouth full. He swallowed before continuing. "I have a lot of classes with them-"

"Are they from respectable walks of life?" Shaggy's mother interrupted. Shaggy groaned.

"Like, not this again, Mom," he muttered. He loved his mother, but she was such a snob!

"Norville, we had hoped then when we moved to Ohio, you would find…better company," his father chimed in. His father was more soft-spoken than his mother, but he usually agreed with her.

"Like what was wrong with my friends in California?" asked Shaggy.

"Don't think we don't know what kind of kids you were hanging out with," his mother said. "I know that Brannen Schultz smoked marijuana. I'm glad _you_ didn't start. I know you're smarter than that, Norville. I had just hoped that you would find better people to befriend here."

Shaggy had shifted uncomfortably in his seat when his mother mentioned marijuana, but now he glowered at her. "What's wrong with my new friends?"

"Well…I suppose the blonde haired boy and the red haired girl seemed respectable enough," his father admitted. "But…what were your views on the small girl with glasses?" He addressed that question to his wife.

"She doesn't seem good enough to be in your presence, Norville," his mother said matter-of-factly.

"Like, how could you possibly know?" Shaggy was beginning to get angry now. "You like, don't even know these people!"

"Do you?" his mother asked him. "You just met them yesterday, Norville. How much could you have gotten to know about them in such a short time?"

Shaggy took a few deep breaths to calm himself down enough to not yell at his mother. "They are like, totally nice, Mom. They helped me out a lot on my first day. If you guys just gave them a chance, you'd see…" He trailed off. There was no way that he could make his mother understand that his friends had spent their day off from school trying to learn about the Wendigo…all for the well-being of him, Scooby and Velma. That was true friendship…but he couldn't explain it to his parents. Besides, he didn't want them knowing about the Wendigo. He finished his dinner in one gulp. "I'm done. I'm gonna like, go upstairs." With that, he pushed his chair back from the table and stormed up to his room, with Scooby following close behind. Once in his room, he flopped onto his bed and groaned. Scooby sat next to the bed and placed his head near Shaggy's.

"Rit's rokay, Raggy," said Scooby. He had overheard the entire dinner conversation and knew precisely what was wrong, but hoped that he could help somehow.

"Like, it doesn't make sense, Scooby Doo," Shaggy said, glancing over at the dog as he reached over and pet him. "It's like, none of my friends are ever good enough for Mom and Dad. Why is that?"

"Rye ron't roe. Rey rike ree!" Scooby pointed out. Shaggy chuckled.

"Like, thank God they like you, Scooby Doo. I don't know how I'd get along without you," Shaggy said as he scratched the dog behind the ears. Eventually, Shaggy put his pajamas on. As he lay in bed, he scrolled back through the messages that his friends had sent him to let him know they'd made it home safely.

**Fred: all good on my end, bud!**

**Daphne: I'm home now, Shaggy! Don't worry – we'll figure out what's happening in the woods so you, Scooby, and Velma can stay safe!**

**Velma: I made it! No spooky Wendigo sightings. Thanks for today – I know it probably wasn't quite how you wanted to spend your day off, but I'm glad we got to spend time together.**

Shaggy re-read Velma's message over and over until he drifted off to sleep.

x.X.x

After Daphne and Fred had walked Velma to her house, they had begun the long trek back to their own neighborhood, Maple Falls. Actually, it wasn't really all that long – it only took about ten minutes to walk there. To tell the truth, Daphne and Fred both felt that the journey was all too short.

"What do you think we should do, Freddie?" asked Daphne. "If there really is a Wendigo living in those woods, then Velma, Shaggy and Scooby aren't safe. And neither are any of the people in that neighborhood."

"I know," Fred said grimly. "I'll think of something, Daph. Don't you worry. There is no way I'm letting a monster get its hands on my friends."

"I'm surprised you care so much," Daphne said, without really thinking. They were on her front porch now, so they stopped walking.

Fred shot her a sideways glance. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh!" Daphne blushed. "I didn't mean it like _that_ , I just meant that…uh…" How could she say this? "Well, you _just_ met Shaggy and Scooby, and _just_ started talking to Velma …but you're already all gung-ho to protect them from harm."

"Not just them," Fred said tenderly, looking Daphne straight in the eye. Suddenly, it was his turn to blush. "I mean…uh….you know…I'd do whatever it took to protect anyone from the Wendigo. I mean, you heard Mrs. Reynolds' story," he babbled.

Daphne smiled demurely. "Well, I think it's awfully sweet of you." She let herself into her house. "Thanks for walking me home."

"Of course," Fred smiled as Daphne closed the door and began to walk upstairs to her bedroom.

Once there, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She looked…giddy. She stopped smiling abruptly, feeling extremely confused. What was going on with her? Just the other day, didn't she believe that Fred Jones was the scum of the earth? Well…maybe not scum but…she definitely hadn't liked him.

Had she?

No, of course she hadn't. That was ridiculous.

So then, why had she found herself smiling almost all day? And most of the time, it had something to do with Fred? What had changed?

Almost as soon as she thought it, her mind answered.

He had made her laugh. He had been fun. He had been determined to protect his friends. Daphne had never known how much Fred cared about people. She'd always thought him to be a huge, egomaniacal jerk. Could she have been wrong? Did Freddie have depths? Would he really put the safety of others before himself?

One thing was certain. Daphne Blake was never going to look at Fred Jones the same way again.

x.X.x

As Velma was climbing into bed that night, she mentally kicked herself for how forward her text to Shaggy had been.

"'I'm glad we got to spend time together', ugh," she groaned. Ever since she and Shaggy had had that conversation about their Spanish names, Velma couldn't stop thinking about the meaning of _Valencia._ "Strength." Well, was being so outspoken in text strength or recklessness? She may never know.

Maybe she was overthinking this. Shaggy may not read between the lines. He may just think Velma was being nice.

But did Velma _want_ Shaggy not to read between the lines?

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. Velma expected it to be Dottie. However, when she told the knocker to come in, her mother entered.

"Mom?" Velma was confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Bill has been having some back difficulty because of the hide-a-bed," Mrs. Dinkley explained. Dottie's husband slept on the fold-out sofa in their living room downstairs. Velma wasn't quite sure why he wasn't sleeping in the same room as his wife – perhaps it was her parents' passive-aggressive way of saying, _Yes we're very happy that we're going to be grandparents, but you should have married our daughter BEFORE you knocked her up._

"So?" Velma didn't get it.

"Well, we've decided to move him into this room with Dottie," Mrs. Dinkley said. "So…do you think you could move out of this room and into Madelyn's?"

"Sure. I mean…that's fine," Velma said. She and Madelyn had shared a room for a while, but once Dottie went to college, Velma moved into Dottie's old room so that she and Madelyn could have more privacy. Velma was used to sharing a room with Madelyn. And it would be nice to not hear Dottie complain about her pregnancy aches every night. She'd miss her bed, though. And looking at Shaggy's signature on the bottom of the picture he'd drawn of her. She'd pinned it up on her bulletin board over her desk and looked at his name there at night.

She gathered up a few essentials such as clothes and a pillow, and knocked on Madelyn's door.

"Hey, roomie. Did you have a nice day off school?" Velma asked as she got settled.

"Yes," Madelyn replied. "Jane and Kerri and Lana and I made snowmen in Coolsville Park after we went sledding on the big hill."

"That sounds fun," Velma said. Madelyn kneeled on her bed and looked out the window up into the night sky. It was completely clear, except for the moon and a few stars.

"Do you think school will be cancelled again tomorrow, Velma?" asked Madelyn hopefully. Velma joined Madelyn at the window. The sky was clear and though they couldn't see the road from their window (their bedroom looked out into the woods), Velma remembered the various snowplows that had come through as Fred and Daphne walked her home.

"I don't think so, Madds," said Velma. "I think the snowplows probably already cleared up the snow in the road. My guess is we _will_ have school in the morning. You'd better get some sleep." Sighing, Madelyn nodded and was about to turn away from the window when suddenly, she froze.

"Velma, I think I see something in the woods," she whispered. "I think it's the monster!" Velma searched the edge of the woods from behind the glass windowpane, but didn't see anything suspicious.

"I don't see anyone, Madelyn-" Suddenly, Velma broke off. _There_. It had just darted behind a tree. And… _there!_ Again! She saw whatever it was lurk out of the shadows. Velma realized it was only a person – a large black man – and she gave a sigh of relief.

"Don't worry Madds. It's not the Wen—I mean, it's just a person. See?" Velma pointed as the man crept out of the woods and headed for the street. Madelyn breathed a sigh of relief as well.

"Thank goodness," she sighed. Then she yawned. "I guess I'm sleepier than I realized. Good night, Velma." Madelyn snuggled under the covers as Velma went back to her own bed. She was glad that it wasn't the Wendigo, and she was _certainly_ glad that she hadn't accidentally informed her little sister of the monster's name. But she was feeling uneasy. _Who was that man,_ she thought, _and why was he lurking in the shadows of the woods behind my house?_

x.X.x

Sure enough, the snow had been cleared from the roads the next morning, so school resumed. However, it was Friday so Shaggy didn't feel as upset. At least he would get to see his friends. Forget about last night, when the shit hit the fan. Forget about what his mom had said. He was going to hang out with Fred, Daphne, and Velma if he wanted to. Besides, none of _them_ smoked pot, so they had to be better influences than Brannen.

"Like, come by during lunch again, Scooby Doo," Shaggy whispered as the two ate breakfast. "Just don't let Mom see you."

"Roo rot it, Raggy!" Scooby barked, saluting him. When the school bus pulled up, Shaggy gave Scooby one last pat on the head before going out the door into the cold air. The bus was a tad warmer than the outside, and he found Velma sitting alone on one of the seats. They grinned when they saw each other, and he sat beside her.

"Like, hey Velm," he greeted her.

"Hi, Shaggy!" she replied brightly. "Did you get my text?"

"Like, yeah. I got Daph and Fred's texts too. I'm like, really glad that you guys all made it home all right." He glanced sideways at her. "And like…I'm really glad that we got to spend time together last night too." He felt the blush rise to his face, but Velma was too busy maintaining her own composure to notice.

After a relatively short but awkward silence, Velma cleared her throat to change the subject. "How do you think Daphne and Fred did, walking all the way back to their neighborhood alone?" Velma had a hunch that the redhead liked the blonde a little more than she was letting on. She had almost texted Daphne to ask how the walk home had been, but her conversation with Madelyn had distracted her. _I ought to tell the others what Madelyn and I saw,_ Velma thought to herself.

"I like, don't know," Shaggy said. "I bet we'll find out during homeroom, though."

"That reminds me," Velma said. "Something happened last night that I should tell you, Daphne and Freddie about."

"Like, what?" Shaggy was concerned, but Velma waved her hand dismissively.

"Let's wait till homeroom, when we're all together. I'll tell you then," she promised.

When the bus arrived, the two walked into homeroom together to find that Daphne was the only one of their friends who was around.

"Oh yeah…Fred has to do the morning announcements," Velma sighed. "I completely forgot."

"Hey, Daph," Shaggy greeted the redhead.

"Hi, Shaggy. Hi, Velma," Daphne replied.

"So Daph…how was your walk home?" asked Velma.

"It was…nice," Daphne said, not wanting to elaborate. She wasn't quite sure she was ready to tell anyone that she might have feelings for Fred Jones…especially when just the other day she had completely hated his guts. "What's up?"

"Velma like, has something to tell us," Shaggy told her. Daphne turned her attention to Velma, but Velma shook her head.

"Not now. Let's wait for Fred." Eventually, the bell rang and the announcements began. Fred's tinny voice through the intercom reminded the sophomore class to buy their class rings and register for the PSATs. By the time the rest of the announcements ended, Fred had arrived in homeroom. Mr. Aiken let the class do as they pleased for the rest of the period, so the girls joined Shaggy and Fred at their desks.

"Velma has news," Daphne told Fred. He looked at the smaller girl, and she described the man she and Madelyn had seen lurking in the woods the previous night.

Shaggy perked up when she began describing him. "Like, what does he look like? In detail?"

"Big," Velma said. "Not fat, just big, with broad shoulders. African American. It was difficult to tell anything else about him, though, because of the distance. Why?"

"Like, I think I saw him the other day," Shaggy said. "On my way back from the uh…bathroom. During study hall."

"You saw him in the school?" Daphne asked. "In the basement?" Shaggy nodded, took out a piece of paper and a pencil from his backpack and quickly drew the man from memory.

"Jinkies, that's him!" Velma exclaimed when Shaggy had finished.

"Did he really look that creepy?" asked Daphne.

"Wow, Shag. You're a pretty good artist," Freddie said.

"Uh, Fred? Focus," Velma said.

"Right. Sorry." Fred studied the drawing, then paused. "Wait a second. I know this guy!"

"How do you know him?" asked Daphne, confused.

"Well, I don't _know_ him, know him," Fred explained. "But I know who he is. He's a janitor at City Hall. His name is Lewis…something or other."

"But like, dude," Shaggy said. "If he works at City Hall, why did I see him in the school basement?"

"And why did I see him in the trees behind my house?" Velma wondered.

"This is very suspicious," Daphne said, tapping a finger to her chin.

"I'll say," Fred replied. "Gang…it looks like we have a mystery on our hands."


	8. Loser

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Warnings: language, fighting. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters – they belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 8: Loser**

"Whoa! Who drew the creepy picture of Lewis Jacobson?"

That voice came from behind the gang. They turned around to find Tony Moretti standing behind them.

"Tony?" Fred was confused. "What are you doing here? You're not in this homeroom."

"And how do you know this guy?" Daphne asked.

"What did you say his name was?" Velma chimed in.

Tony laughed. "One question at a time guys!" He turned to Velma. "His name is Lewis Jacobson." Then, to Daphne, "I've seen him around school." And finally, to Fred, "I had to use the bathroom and on my way back to class, this guy" he pointed to the drawing "stopped me and asked me to deliver a note to Mr. Aiken. Okay, I've answered your questions, now someone answer mine!" He gave them a lopsided grin.

"Like, I drew it," Shaggy admitted.

"You're pretty good, new kid," Tony said. "You gonna join the art club?"

"I don't know. Like, I was thinking about it," Shaggy told him.

"Well, I definitely think you should. You've got talent. That looks just like him," Tony said.

"How did you say you knew him again, Tony?" asked Fred.

"I ran into him on the first day back from winter break," Tony explained. "I was on my way to lunch when I saw someone sneak into the basement. I knew there weren't any sophomore study halls that period, so I was kinda curious. I followed the guy down there and found him snooping through one of the old empty classrooms. I asked him what he was doing down there and who he was. 'Lewis Jacobson,' he said his name was. 'I'm a janitor.' Only…he wasn't dressed like one. He was dressed…you know. Normally. Then he told me to get to class. And then today I ran into him on my way back from the toilet and he asked if I knew where Mr. Aiken's room was. 'Sure I do,' I said, so he asked me to take this note to him. And then I saw him heading for the basement again."

"Like, I ran into him in the basement, too," Shaggy chimed in. Then he paused. "Wait a sec. Like, is he here right now? Like, you saw him just a minute ago when he like, gave you that note?"

Tony nodded, confused at the questions.

"That doesn't make any sense," Fred stated. "He works as a janitor at City Hall. Why would he suddenly change jobs?"

"The school _is_ short staffed for janitors," Daphne reminded him. To Shaggy, she said, "Back in the fall, when school first started, a bunch of the custodians went on strike. The administrators wouldn't explain why, though."

"Pretty suspicious, if you ask me," Fred said.

Another suspicious thing was how quiet Velma was being. Shaggy looked over to the smaller girl to see why she wasn't saying anything. She was staring at Mr. Aiken, who seemed flustered and was hastily shoving a folded-up piece of paper into a drawer in his desk. Suddenly the bell rang and everyone headed out of the classroom.

"Dinks, Jonesy, I'll see you guys in chem, huh?" Tony said with a grin. "New kid, I'll see you in history."

"Like, right," Shaggy said.

"I'll see you in algebra, Shaggy," Daphne said to the tall skinny boy. "I'll see you in French, Freddie."

"Hey Fred," Velma murmured once Tony and Daphne were out of sight. "What's your next period?

"World history," Fred replied.

"Is your class doing research in the library today?" asked Velma.

"I think so. Why?" he wondered.

"Can you try to do some research on Lewis Jacobson?" she asked. "I want to find out what he's doing in the school."

"You got it, Velm." With that, Fred turned down the hall.

"Let's walk to Spanish together, Shag," Velma whispered, taking his elbow. "I need to talk to you."

"Like…about what?" Shaggy was confused. He and the younger girl hurried down the hall and up the stairs to Spanish.

"Did you see Mr. Aiken?" asked Velma.

"Like, not really. I saw him put a piece of paper in his desk. Was that like, the note that Tony gave him from Lewis Jacobson?"

"Yes," Velma replied. "Did you see him reading it?"

"Like…no."

"He opened it, his eyes got wide and seemed really flustered when he finished," Velma said. "It was extremely strange."

"Like, why's it strange?" Shaggy wanted to know.

"Because Mr. Aiken _doesn't get flustered_ , Shaggy!" They had arrived at Sra. Rodriguez's room and sat down in their seats. "I want to know what that note says."

x.X.x

Meanwhile, Fred's world history class was heading to the library to do some research for an upcoming project. Instead of looking up information on British parliament, Fred did some research on Lewis Jacobson, as Velma had asked him. He thought it was extremely suspicious that both Shaggy and Tony had seen the man that cleaned the floors at City Hall in the school basement and that Velma had seen him in the woods behind her house. The same woods, he remembered, where the Wendigo allegedly lived.

Fred found nothing on Lewis Jacobson, so he signed into Skype. Sometimes his father went online during the day when he wasn't busy.

Luckily, his father was on Skype. Since the school computers didn't have webcams installed (and Fred didn't want to talk out loud in the school library when he was supposed to be doing research anyway), he began a text chat.

**trapmasterfreddie: hey dad! do you have a few minutes?  
Fred_Jones_Senior: Fred? What are you doing online? Shouldn't you be in school?  
trapmasterfreddie: i am at school but i have a question.  
Fred_Jones_Senior: I don't have time Fred, I'm very busy. And you should be doing your schoolwork!  
trapmasterfreddie: dad remember that janitor who worked at city hall? lewis jacobson? when did he quit and start working at coolsville high?  
Fred_Jones_Senior: What are you talking about, son? Lewis Jacobson still works at City Hall. Now I have to get back to work and you have to get back to school! I'll talk to you when I get home.**

_**Fred_Jones_Senior has signed off.** _

Fred stared at the computer, dumbfounded. If Lewis Jacobson still worked at City Hall, then why had he been in the Coolsville High School basement? In his street clothes? Unless he wasn't at Coolsville High as a janitor. But then, why had he introduced himself as a janitor to Tony? Did it have something to do with the custodian strike? Fred suddenly got a crazy thought.

He whipped out his cellphone and sneakily sent Daphne a text message.

**hey daph, see if you can find anything out about the janitors strike during 1** **st** **and 2** **nd** **pd. it may have something to do with the mystery of the wendigo.**

He, on the other hand, decided to obey his father and try to get some schoolwork done. Maybe if he did well on his project, he might raise his grade to something above a C minus.

x.X.x

Daphne and her lab partner, Ellie Flanders, were testing certain chemicals on PH strips to figure out if the chemical was an acid or a base, when suddenly her phone vibrated in her pocket. Stealthily, she took a peek and saw that it was a text from Fred.

 _I just saw him like, fifteen minutes ago,_ Daphne thought to herself. _What could be so important?_ Secretly, she was glad she was getting a text from him, although she would have never admitted it to anybody.

**Freddie: hey daph, see if you can find anything out about the janitors strike during 1** **st** **and 2** **nd** **pd. it may have something to do with the mystery of the wendigo.**

Daphne furrowed her brow. What could the janitor's strike possibly have to do with the mystery of the Wendigo? And how was she supposed to do research in the first place? She had chemistry and algebra first and second period. There was no way she _could_ do research.

Unless…

Daphne peeked at her lab partner, who was watching as the PH strip turned pink. _Of course!_ Ellie Flanders' mother was on the school board. Surely she'd know something about the janitor's strike.

 **I'll see what I can do,** was Daphne's response. Once she put away her phone, she turned to the brown-haired girl standing next to her.

x.X.x

"I think that during lunch today," Velma said to Shaggy when they hit a lull in class, "you, Freddie, Daphne and I should go back to Mr. Aiken's room and see if we can sneak a peek at that note. It may be an important clue."

"Like, I don't know, Velm," Shaggy hedged. "I like, promised Scooby Doo he could eat with us again."

"We'll take him along," Velma said. "I bet he could sniff out the note so we could find it faster."

"Like, what exactly do you think will be in the note?" Shaggy couldn't exactly grasp what Velma hoped to find.

"I just think it's suspicious that Lewis Jacobson showed up in the school basement _and_ in the woods behind my house _and_ had a note for our homeroom teacher that made him nervous," Velma said. "I want to know _why_ it made him so nervous."

It was already making Shaggy pretty nervous. When the bell rang, he and Velma headed out and ran smack into Daphne, coming from chemistry.

"You guys will never believe what I found out about the janitor's strike," she said exuberantly.

"What?" asked Shaggy and Velma.

"I talked to Ellie Flanders during chem today," she explained. "Ellie's mom is on the school board, you know? So I decided to ask her about the janitor's strike because Freddie thinks it might have something to do with the Wendigo."

"Wait…what?" Velma didn't follow Fred's logic.

"That's what I said, but Freddie may not be far off. Ellie couldn't tell me much, but she did tell me that the strike happened all over the city, not just in schools. The place it originated from was actually some real estate agency."

"Like hold on," Shaggy held up his hands as he remembered something. "Like, Paul Reynolds was a real estate agent, wasn't he?"

"Exactly! Ellie said that it was _his_ agency that started the strike."

"That's pretty suspicious," Velma said. "Just before Reynolds disappears, his custodians begin a city-wide strike?" She furrowed her brow. "It seems like it should add up somehow, but I can't make sense of it." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "We should get to our next classes. I'll see Fred in chemistry and I'll ask him what he found out about Lewis Jacobson. Shaggy, you tell Daphne our lunch plan."

"What's the lunch plan?" asked Daphne confusedly as Velma took off down the hallway.

"Velma wants you, me, her, Fred and Scooby Doo to like, sneak back into Mr. Aiken's classroom and look at the note that Lewis Jacobson had Tony deliver. She thinks that it like, might have something to do with this too," Shaggy explained, hoping that Daphne would decline.

Instead, she arched an eyebrow. "That's actually a pretty good idea. I noticed that Mr. Aiken seemed anxious when he put the note away. I'd like to see what made him so nervous."

x.X.x

"I don't understand," Velma said to Fred. She had just finished describing "the lunch plan" and he and just finished describing his conversation with his father. They were speaking quietly because their respective lab partners (Tony Moretti was Velma's and Maureen Fischer was Fred's) were nearby. "How could Lewis Jacobson be working at both City Hall _and_ the school?"

"Unless," Fred pointed out. "He's not actually working at the school. He's just…visiting."

"Why would he _visit_ the basement, though?" wondered Velma. "That's the mystery."

"Hey Dinks, you gonna help me with this PH strip or what?" asked Tony teasingly. Velma looked back to Fred.

"I guess we'll talk more later," she said as she headed over to Tony. "Don't forget that we're snooping in Mr. Aiken's room during lunch." Velma tried to focus on chemistry. But thoughts of Lewis Jacobson, his mysterious note to Mr. Aiken, and the janitor's strike swam through her mind for the rest of the period.

Fred was lost in thought about these things as well, until Maureen Fischer took his thoughts elsewhere.

"Did you know that Daphne Blake is a closeted lesbian?" she asked him conspiratorially. He stared at her as if broccoli had begun sprouting from her ears. "I'm serious. She has a thing for Velma Dinkley." She jerked her head towards the auburn-haired, bespectacled girl.

"…Maureen, that's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard," Fred said.

"Why _else_ do you think she's never said yes when you asked her out?" Maureen said. "I mean, any girl in her right mind would jump at the chance to date you." She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "I don't think you deserve a girl like Blake anyway. She's a loser. You deserve someone…better." She touched his hand but Fred moved it away. Maureen scowled and muttered under her breath, but Fred didn't hear her. He was still trying to process all this.

It couldn't be true. It just couldn't be. He knew that Daphne had dated several boys. And Daphne never acted like she had a crush on Velma.

But Fred remembered the previous day at the malt shop, when he'd completely missed the fact that Velma's sister Madelyn had a crush on Shaggy. _"You've still got a little to learn about girls,"_ Daphne had said.

Could it be possible that he'd missed this, too?

x.X.x

Daphne left Shaggy and headed for French, determined to tell Fred what she'd learned about the janitor's strike. But for once, he wouldn't talk to her. He sat beside her and glumly stared into space.

"Freddie," she finally said about halfway through the period. "What's the matter with you?"

"Do you like Velma?" he asked her bluntly.

Daphne blinked, surprised by his question. "Uh, yeah. I mean, I think she's a really nice person and she's very smart and I think she and I could become good friends. Why?"

"Is that… _all_ you think you two could become?" Fred asked, dreading the answer.

"Fred, what are you trying to ask?" Suddenly Daphne remembered Wednesday's gym class and it hit her. "Oh no. Have you been talking to Maureen Fischer?"

"She's my chemistry lab partner," Fred confessed.

"What did she say to you?" asked Daphne.

"She told me that…you and Velma…" he didn't want to finish the sentence. It was still too horrible to believe. Daphne took several deep breaths to calm herself.

 _Awesome_ , she thought sarcastically. _Maureen is trying to convince people that I'm a lesbian._ She sighed and put her hand on Freddie's.

"Maureen is only saying that because she wants you for herself," Daphne told him. "I'm sure of it. It's not true. I like boys. So does Velma," she added as an afterthought. "Maureen's only saying it because she's mad that I stepped on her toes when I stuck up for Velma in PE on Wednesday." Fred looked sideways at her.

"Really?" he asked. "But at the malt shop…I had no idea that Madelyn liked Shaggy. It flew over my head. I thought this flew over my head, too."

"Well I won't pretend like things don't fly over your head," Daphne grinned slyly, remembering the previous night when she and Scooby had noticed Velma and Shaggy blushing at each other, but Fred didn't notice anything. "But you're pretty good at figuring out other things. I mean, you had a good hunch about Lewis Jacobson being connected to the janitor's strike."

"I did?" Fred looked directly at Daphne now. "What did you find out?"

Bit by bit, Daphne told Fred about her conversation with Ellie in chemistry. When she was finished, Fred smiled.

"We should pay Mrs. Reynolds another visit," he said. "See if she knows anything about that."

"Good idea, Freddie," Daphne replied with a smile of her own. "Let's go after school." She noticed that her hand was still on Fred's. Blushing, she removed it just as the bell rang.

x.X.x

Daphne caught up with Velma outside of the girl's locker room and snagged her before they went in.

"Watch out," she warned her. "Maureen Fischer is spreading rumors that you and I are secret lesbian lovers."

Velma groaned. "I'm sorry, Daph."

"It's not your fault," Daphne told her. "Besides, if she tries anything again, I'll teach her a lesson." Something in Daphne's tone told Velma that the redhead was only half-joking.

"Daphne, I don't want you going to detention on my behalf," she tried to dissuade her. "Let me deal with Maureen. I bet I could do some damage." If Shaggy thought Velma could beat him at arm wrestling, then surely she could get a few licks in on Maureen, right?

Daphne laughed. "How about neither of us beat her up and if she accuses us of being lesbians again, we just run over and kiss Shaggy and Fred?" She'd been kidding, but she went red at her own suggestion anyway.

Velma blushed at that, but when she noticed that Daphne was blushing too, she eyed the other girl suspiciously.

"How are things between you and Fred?" Velma asked. "You seem to be getting along with him better."

"Yeah well…" Daphne's eyes darted, trying to think of a way to escape having to explain her sudden attraction to Fred Jones. Her eyes landed on the clock "Oh wow, uh, look at the time! We better get into our gym clothes, huh? We're gonna be late." With an awkward smile, she dashed into the locker room. Grinning slyly to herself, Velma followed her in.

Meanwhile, Fred was filling Shaggy in on the plans for after school.

"Like, oh boy," Shaggy sighed. He didn't want to go back to the Reynolds' house. He didn't even want to snoop around in Mr. Aiken's classroom during lunch. He really wanted a smoke. Or a sandwich. _A sandwich is probably healthier_ , he decided. _Besides, I like, don't have any more pot. AND, besides, I quit._

When he and Fred left the locker room, they found Daphne and Velma waiting for them.

"Hey, did you know that Velma's not a lesbian?" Fred asked Shaggy quietly.

Shaggy stared at Fred for a moment. That statement had come completely out of left field. "Um…like…did people think she was?"

"Oh yeah. Sometimes I forget that you're new," Fred chuckled. "People have believed that she's a lesbian since like, eighth grade. Last year when we were in ninth grade she went out with Tony Moretti, but everyone could tell there was no chemistry, so people just assumed she liked girls." He sighed. "I guess it was wrong of us, but she never dated any guys other than Tony."

Shaggy was trying to absorb so many things at once. People thought Velma was a lesbian? Was she? And… _she'd gone out with Tony Moretti?_

"Not that there's anything _wrong_ with being gay, of course," Fred babbled on. "But I've got it on good authority that Velma is straight. I think she and Daph are becoming pretty good friends."

"Like, how long did she and Tony go out for?" asked Shaggy.

"Pretty much all year. They went to the homecoming dance together – that's how it started – and then they broke up around Memorial Day. They're still really good friends," Fred told him. They had reached the girls by now and stopped talking. But Shaggy was still stuck in his mind.

" _Have you ever liked a girl so much that the thought of her dating some other guy made you crazy?"_ Fred's words from the first day of school crept into Shaggy's mind but he immediately pushed them out. He certainly liked Velma, there was no use denying that. But…did he really like her like _that_? He glanced over at her and she grinned when he caught her eye. He felt his heart do somersaults and his face catch fire, and he turned his gaze to the ground.

"So gang," Velma said in a murmur. "Don't forget that during lunch we're going to search Mr. Aiken's room. Shaggy, is Scooby good at finding things with his nose?"

Shaggy found his voice again. "Like, yeah. He's great at sniffing things out."

"I'm just worried about one thing," Daphne said. "How can we be sure that Mr. Aiken won't lock his classroom door?"

"Well like, if he does lock it, Scooby Doo is the best lock picker I've ever known," Shaggy heard himself say. _Why did I say that?_ he shouted in his head. _Like, I don't want to snoop in Mr. Aiken's classroom!_

Suddenly, a snooty-sounding voice interrupted them.

"Well, well, well. Check this out, girls. Fred Jones slumming it with the losers and geeks." The gang looked up to find Maureen and her minions, Rachael and Phoebe, standing not too far away. Daphne rolled her eyes. They didn't have time for Maureen right now.

"You've got some nerve, you know?" Daphne said. "Starting up rumors like that."

"Yeah, Maureen," Fred chimed in. "I'll have you know that Daphne and Velma are _both_ straight!"

"Thank you, Fred," Velma said with a small groan.

"Shows how much you know, Fred Jones," Maureen sneered. "You don't know shit about _any_ of these people!"

"How much do _you_ know about us, Maureen?" Daphne shot back.

" _You_ ," Maureen began, pointing at Daphne, "are a klutz, _she_ " (Maureen now pointed at Velma) "is a geek, and _he_ " (now she pointed at Shaggy) "is a stoner!" She grinned evilly at them. "How'd I do?"

Shaggy felt his face blanche as the others swiveled their heads around to look at him. _How the hell had Maureen known…?_

"Like, no I'm not," he said. This was true. He had never been a pothead. Sure, he'd smoked it a couple times, but he'd never been as stoned as Brannen. And besides, he was quitting.

"Oh, don't even try," Maureen scoffed. "I saw you the other day. You were packing a bowl during study hall, in one of the empty classrooms in the basement. Don't even think about lying to me, you fucking –"

WHAP!

The next thing anyone knew, Maureen was sprawled on the ground, clutching the cheek that Velma had slapped. Velma stood above her, fist clenched, eyes angry. Everyone gawked at her, not quite believing what they were seeing. Time seemed to slow down for Shaggy. All he could do was stare.

…Velma had stood up for him.

_Like…no one's ever done that before._

"You. _Fucking. Bitch!"_ Maureen screeched, propelling herself up from the floor and lunging for Velma. On an impulse, Shaggy threw himself in her path and body-blocked her.

"Like, don't even think about it!" he heard himself say. Rachael tried to get around him to swipe at Velma as well, but he wouldn't budge. Rachael tripped and landed on the floor. Shaggy wasn't quite aware of what he was doing. It was instinct. He felt like he was watching himself do this.

"What is going on here?"

If Shaggy had been having an out-of-body experience, that voice certainly propelled him back into reality. Everyone turned to see Coach Warren storming towards them.

"Maureen, Rachael, what happened?" asked the coach as they got up.

"Velma and Shaggy attacked us," Maureen said, pointing.

"Oh, they did not!" Daphne spoke up in an attempt to defend her new friends. "Besides which, you started it."

"No she didn't!" Phoebe shot back. "Velma slapped Maureen in the face, and then Shaggy pushed her and Rachael!"

"Shaggy didn't push them, he stepped in front of them to block them from coming after Velma!" Fred cried.

"Yeah!" Daphne exclaimed. "And none of this wouldn't happen if Maureen hadn't –"

"ENOUGH!" bellowed Coach Warren. "I'm not sure what's going on, but there will be NO FIGHTING in my gym class." He pointed to Maureen, Rachael, Velma, and Shaggy. "You all have detention today. After school, till 4. But I'll separate you. Maureen and Rachael, you're going to have detention with me. Velma and Shaggy, you have detention with someone else. I'll check around to see who can supervise." He pointed to Maureen and her friends. "You all sit over there." He pointed at Shaggy and his friends. "You all stay here." With that, Coach Warren walked off. Maureen and her friends scampered away, glaring back at the gang murderously.

Velma stood stock still, trying to process everything. _Detention_? She had detention? The concept was so foreign. She'd never been in trouble before. She felt like crying.

But then Shaggy murmured "Thank you" to her. She glanced at him and saw that he was blushing and staring at the ground. The others all looked at him too.

"…Do you really smoke weed?" asked Fred.

"Like, not anymore, man," Shaggy said after some hesitation. "I used to. But like, I quit."

"Wow," Daphne said. "I had no idea."

"Me neither," Velma admitted. "Still though…Maureen had no right to attack you."

"She had no right to attack _any_ of us," Daphne growled. "I'm going to teach her a lesson."

"Daphne, please. We're already in enough trouble with her. Let's not make it worse," Velma said rationally.

"But I have to do _something_ to help, Velma!"

"What you can do," Velma told her, "is go back to Mrs. Reynolds' house today with Fred since Shaggy and I can't. Find out as much as you can about the janitor's strike."

"Good news kids," Coach Warren interrupted. "Mr. Aiken will be around this afternoon. You can have detention with him. Now let's go play some basketball, as long as you can behave yourselves."

x.X.x

During lunch, the gang didn't dare leave the cafeteria for fear of getting into even more trouble, so Daphne and Fred went over the specifics of what they would ask Mrs. Reynolds' that afternoon. Scooby went around the cafeteria, trying to find leftovers that people had dropped on the floor. This left Velma and Shaggy to do quite a bit of talking.

"I'm gonna tell Scooby to come back after school. We should be able to do a little snooping in Mr. Aiken's room during de—" she broke off as the word caught in her throat. She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Detention."

"Like is this your first time?" Shaggy pretended he hadn't heard what Velma said about Scooby coming back to school to help them look for the note.

Velma nodded, not wanting to talk about detention anymore. She cast around wildly in her head for something to say to change the subject.

"So how long had you smoked?" she asked him. Immediately, she regretted it. His cheeks turned pink and he looked away. Velma opened her mouth to apologize but to her surprise, Shaggy answered her.

"Like, not all that long," he told her. "I only started cuz like, my buddy Brannen liked the stuff and had me try it one day." His face burned with embarrassment. Shaggy had hoped so much that Velma and his other friends would never find out about that habit.

"Did you…like it?"

"Not particularly," Shaggy admitted. "It like, wasn't exactly a pleasant sensation. And I was like, hungry all the time."

"Not much seems to have changed in that respect," Velma remarked, indicating the enormous sandwich that Shaggy was about to take a bite of.

He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well…" he trailed off. There was a pause before he continued. "Thanks again for like, sticking up for me."

"Thank _you_ for sticking up for _me_ ," Velma replied. "Nobody's ever done that before, other than Daphne."

"Like, seriously?" Shaggy said. "Me neither."

Velma grinned shyly at him. "I guess we're both losers, huh?"

"Like, given a choice between you and Maureen Fischer, I'd pick you every time, Velm," Shaggy said. "In fact, given a choice between you and like, just about anyone else, I'd pick you every time. You're not a loser to me." Shaggy felt himself go red again, and he stared at his sandwich.

Velma blushed as well. "Thank you, Shaggy," she said softly.

Scooby Doo stood on the other side of the cafeteria with half of a pizza crust in his mouth. He watched this scene unfold and felt his heart sink a little. And he didn't even know why.


	9. Drive My Car

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters – they belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 9: Drive My Car**

After the last bell, the four friends stood outside of their English class and discussed the plan for the day.

"So Daph and I will take Bus 14 to Shaggy's stop," Fred said. "And we'll talk to Mrs. Reynolds about the janitor's strike."

"And Shaggy and I will poke around Mr. Aiken's room during detention," Velma said. Shaggy grimaced. He had rather hoped that Velma would have abandoned this idea, but apparently she hadn't.

"Like how will we be able to snoop if he's in there watching us the whole time?" Shaggy asked.

"Trust me, Shaggy," Velma said. "Mr. Aiken is famous for leaving kids in his room alone during detention. Besides, neither of us have been to detention before – he always goes easy on the first-timers." She and Shaggy waved to Daphne and Fred as they walked off down the hall towards Mr. Aiken's room.

"Good, you're here," he said as they popped into the room. He was leaning over his desk, putting something in the drawers, but he did a double take. "Mr. Rogers? Ms. Dinkley? Are you here for detention?"

"Well…yes," Velma admitted.

Mr. Aiken looked at them suspiciously. "Why?"

"We got into a, um…" Velma trailed off. "…An altercation with Maureen Fischer and Rachael Amora," she finished. Shaggy couldn't help smirking. _That's like, a polite way to put it,_ he thought.

Mr. Aiken rolled his eyes and gestured to a couple of desks for the pair to sit in. "Stay there," he told them. "I'll be back in an hour." With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him. As soon as he had gone, Velma and Shaggy got up from the desks.

"Do you think Scooby's here yet?" Velma asked. Shaggy forgot that Velma had asked Scooby during lunch to come back to school to help them search for the note.

"Like, I don't know," Shaggy replied, looking out the window. Sure enough, Scooby was laying outside in the remnants of yesterday's snow. Shaggy quickly and quietly opened the window and the dog bounded in.

"Like hey Scooby Doo!" Shaggy smiled at his dog.

"Ri, Raggy!" Scooby barked.

"Shhhh," Velma hushed them. "We need to do this quietly. I don't want anyone walking in here." Silently, they made their way over to the teacher's desk. "Okay, Scooby," she said. "Start sniffing."

x.X.x

In the meantime, Bus 14 had stopped at FitzSimmonds Court. Fred got out first and waited for Daphne at the door. He offered her his arm as she descended the steps.

"Thank you," Daphne said as she felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She'd never known how much of a gentleman Fred could be. In fact, she felt kind of bad that she'd been so obnoxious to him all year.

"Of course," Fred said with a dashing smile. The two walked together towards Mrs. Reynold's house. When they arrived, Fred knocked on the front door.

Nobody came.

Frowning, Fred knocked again. When no one answered again, he rang the doorbell. Still nothing.

"Maybe she isn't home?" suggested Daphne.

"Maybe…" Fred murmured in agreement. He tried the knob. "The door's locked."

"Well, if she's not home, then she probably _would_ lock the door," Daphne pointed out.

Fred made a _hmmm_ sound under his breath and walked off the porch and craned his neck to see around the side of the house.

"You think the back door's unlocked?" he wondered.

"Freddie!" Daphne cried, aghast. "We can't break into this woman's house! We'll get arrested!"

"Only if we get caught," Fred said, simply. With that, he headed around for the back of the house, leaving Daphne no choice but to follow him.

She ran smack into his back when he stopped short at the side of the house.

"Oof!" she cried as she fell. "Freddie, what are you-?"

"Shh!" he hushed her. "Look!" Curiously, Daphne peered around the corner of the house to see Mrs. Reynolds sneaking out the back door and into the woods.

"Where is she going?" Daphne wondered. "And what's in that cooler?" Fred noticed that Mrs. Reynolds held a medium sized cooler by the handle.

"Maybe we should find out," Fred said.

"Freddie, you can't be serious!" Daphne was appalled again.

"We won't follow her too closely," Fred told her quietly. "She won't even know we're there."

"But…the Wendigo…" Daphne wasn't positive the monster actually existed and it _was_ broad daylight out. But given everything they'd learned about the legend yesterday, and the horrors that Scooby, Shaggy, Velma and Madelyn had witnessed…

Fred could tell that Daphne was nervous so he took her hand. They were wearing gloves, due to the cold, but it still had the same effect on her.

"I won't let anything happen to you, Daph," he assured her. "I promise."

Daphne found comfort in his words. She wasn't sure what he could do, but she felt better knowing that he would protect her to the best of his ability.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "Let's go."

Fred kept holding her hand until they got to the tree line.

x.X.x

Mr. Aiken's desk had far too many drawers.

At least, it had too many drawers with nothing useful in them. Shaggy was beginning to get even antsier than he'd originally been.

"Like, anything yet, Scoob?" he asked hopefully.

"Rope," Scooby sighed. Velma furrowed her brow.

"Mr. Aiken didn't take it with him," Velma said. "We both saw him put it in the desk."

"He could have like, taken it out after that," Shaggy pointed out, hoping that Velma would declare the mission futile.

"Rye round romething!" Scooby cried triumphantly, reaching a paw into the very back of one of the drawers and pulling out a tiny, folded up piece of paper.

"That's it, Scooby! Good boy!" Velma congratulated him. She took it from him and opened it. Her brow furrowed again.

"Like what's it say?" asked Shaggy, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Velma cleared her throat and read aloud. " _'I already know everything. This changes nothing. I'll meet you tonight at the usual place at the usual time. Bring the greens.'_ " Velma looked up. "That's all it says."

"Rut ruz rit reen?" wondered Scooby.

"Like, I don't know what it means, Scooby Doo," Shaggy muttered quietly.

"I think…" Velma said slowly. "That Lewis Jacobson and Mr. Aiken are in cahoots."

"…In like, what?" Shaggy was confused.

"It means they're in on something together," Velma told him. "But what?"

"Like it says something about greens," Shaggy said.

"Regetables?" Scooby's head filled with images of broccoli, asparagus, and spinach.

Velma snapped her fingers. "Jinkies!" she said. "I think I've got it!"

"Like, got what?" asked Shaggy.

"Lewis Jacobson and Mr. Aiken are the counterfeiters!"

x.X.x

Daphne and Fred followed Mrs. Reynolds at a safe distance, keeping track of her by following the footprints that she left in the snow. Twice she turned around, but they had both ducked behind trees before she could see them. They followed her deeper and deeper into the forest until they came to a clearing.

"Freddie, where could she be going?" Daphne whispered.

"I don't know…" was his response. Suddenly, on the far end of the clearing, Mrs. Reynolds knelt next to a huge oak tree that was stripped of its leaves. Its large roots sprouted from the ground. To Fred and Daphne's utter astonishment, Mrs. Reynolds set down her cooler and picked up one of the large roots. When a hole in the tree opened up, Daphne and Fred realized it was a door handle. Mrs. Reynolds picked up her container and headed into the tree, shutting the door behind her.

After about five minutes, Fred whispered to Daphne, "I think it's safe to follow her."

Daphne was terrified as to what they might find in there (and what Mrs. Reynolds might do if she realized that she was being followed), but nodded and followed Fred to the tree. Fred picked up the tree root just as Mrs. Reynolds had and the door in the tree opened for him just as it had for her. Quietly, he and Daphne placed their backpacks at the foot of the tree, entered and shut the door carefully behind them.

There was a short, rickety, wooden staircase that led underground. Daphne, klutzy and danger-prone as she was, felt precarious as she followed Fred carefully down. When they finally reached the bottom, a flaming torch attached to the wall dimly lit the room they found themselves in. Two tunnels forked out in front of them.

"Which way should we go?" wondered Daphne in a whisper. Fred stuck his tongue between his teeth as he thought. Suddenly, he pointed down the tunnel on the left.

"There!" he said quietly. "She's at the very end of the tunnel!" Sure enough, by the dim light of the flame, Mrs. Reynolds' distant figure was just turning a corner. Daphne and Fred speed-walked after her. They found that as they headed further and further down the tunnel, the darker it got. Soon, they had to feel along the dirt walls to be able to find their way.

"Freddie, I can't see anything," Daphne complained.

"Neither can I," Fred replied. He was about to say something else when suddenly they heard a noise from the end of the tunnel. A scream, and then a clatter as something felt to the floor.

"Did you hear that?" Daphne whispered.

"It sounded like Mrs. Reynolds!" Fred replied. They picked up the pace, walking much more quickly towards the sound, until Daphne tripped over something and landed with a cry of "Oof!"

"Daph, are you okay?" Fred asked concernedly as he helped her up.

"I'm fine," Daphne said. "I just tripped over…" She looked down but she couldn't see anything. She rummaged around in her purse, pulled out her phone and pressed the button for the flashlight app. Once the floor was illuminated, the thing that Daphne had tripped over was revealed to be Mrs. Reynolds' cooler. It had opened, and several bricks of white were spilling from it.

"What is that?" Fred wondered.

"Tofu," Daphne realized. She recognized it from the dish that she'd seen on the cover of Mrs. Reynolds' cookbook the previous day.

Suddenly, they heard a noise and looked up. Standing directly in front of them was a huge, grotesquely colored creature. Daphne recognized this, too. She had seen it in the picture that Mrs. Reynolds' had shown the gang at the house. It was the Wendigo.

"Run!" she screeched, turning her heel. She and Fred sprinted down the tunnel, back from the direction they had come from. They ran up the stairs with the Wendigo in hot pursuit behind them, snarling and growling all the while. They bolted from the tree and grabbed their backpacks as they passed.

"Which way did we come from?" Daphne was so terrified and disoriented in these woods, that she hardly knew which way was up.

"This way!" Fred cried. Gladly, Daphne let him take the lead. They rushed through the trees and finally made it to the tree line. They didn't stop running until they reached Shaggy's house – and realized that the Wendigo was no longer chasing them.

"What…where did it go?" Fred was out of breath, and so was Daphne. She just shook her head – she was still too winded to speak. They leaned against a white van that was parked outside of the Rogers' house trying to catch their breath. When they'd somewhat recovered, Daphne turned to Fred.

"Freddie…I didn't see Mrs. Reynolds after she screamed."

Fred looked down resignedly. "I know."

"Do you think…" Daphne swallowed. "Do you think the Wendigo got her?"

Fred breathed deeply, shrugged, and then nodded. "It looks like it."

Daphne shuddered, and looked at her phone to check the time. "Freddie, it's four," she said. "We should go back to the school and tell Shaggy and Velma about this."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Only I really don't want to walk all that way after all that running we did." He looked at the van that he was leaning against. Peering in the window, he saw that the keys were in the ignition. And the door was unlocked.

"What kind of donkey would do that?" Daphne said when Fred mentioned this to her.

"I don't know," he said as he climbed into the drivers' seat. Daphne stared at him wide-eyed.

"Freddie, you can't drive!"

"Yes, I can," he said. "My uncle taught me how when I was twelve. I've known how to drive for a while."

"I mean, you're too young!" Daphne said. "You're not sixteen yet. What if you get caught? There's no way we can drive all the way across town – and in Shaggy's van!"

"It'll be fine," Fred insisted. "Don't you trust me?"

Daphne hesitated. Never in a million years did she think that she'd be trusting Fred Jones to drive her across town in a van that he'd never driven before. But these circumstances they found themselves in had changed the way that Daphne viewed everything.

"I do," she admitted begrudgingly. She ran around to the other side of the van and got in the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt. Fred had already fastened his, and was now starting the car. They cruised down the street easily, bursting with anticipation to tell Shaggy and Velma what they had witnessed.

x.X.x

Back in Mr. Aiken's room, Shaggy and Scooby were still staring bewilderedly at Velma.

"…Like, you think our homeroom teacher and a City Hall janitor are behind this operation?" Shaggy asked finally.

"Rexplain," demanded Scooby, who couldn't follow Velma's logic.

"Think about it," Velma said. "Jacobson has been seen in the basement of the school, right? There's an old printing press down there!"

"Um…I like, didn't know that," Shaggy reminded her.

"Oh. Well, there's an old printing press down there," Velma said. "Jacobson must have seen Mr. Aiken down there one day and he wants to be in on it, too! He needs to be making money somehow, with this whole janitors strike. What better way than to make your _own_ money? Literally!"

"Like…I guess it makes sense…" Shaggy admitted. Truthfully, he didn't understand any of this, but Velma looked so pleased with herself for figuring it out that he didn't want to make her explain it again.

Scooby was standing by the door and suddenly turned his head back to his master and Velma. "Raggy! Ra reacher's roming!"

Velma gasped and quickly handed Shaggy the note. "Put that in your pocket," she instructed him as she ran over to open the window. "Scooby, we'll meet you in front of the school in a few minutes." The dog leaped through the open window and Velma shut it behind him. Quickly, she and Shaggy raced back to their seats. They were sitting nonchalantly when Mr. Aiken came back into the room. Well, Velma was nonchalant. Shaggy 's hands were clammy and he could feel the note burning a hole in his pocket.

"Ah, good," said Mr. Aiken. He was holding a folder and reached into it to pull out two sheets of paper. "These documents explain why you were sent to detention this afternoon. Have your parents sign them and return them to me on Monday, please." He handed one to each of them, then glanced up at the clock. It was four. "You may go."

With hurried thanks, the two teens rushed from the room towards the front of the school. Scooby Doo was waiting there for them…along with Daphne and Fred, the latter of which was driving a very familiar looking van.

"…Dude, Freddie," Shaggy said. "Did you like, drive my car back here?"

"Yes," Fred admitted. "The keys were in the ignition and the door was unlocked." Shaggy rolled his eyes.

"We think we're getting some new leads," Velma spoke up.

"About the Wendigo?" Why did Daphne sound so terrified?

"No, about the counterfeiters!" Velma explained her theory about Lewis Jacobson and their homeroom teacher and showed them the note.

"That would be really upsetting if Mr. Aiken was behind all this," Daphne said. "He's such a nice guy. I mean, does he even have a motive?"

"Hold on," Fred said, holding up his hands. "I don't know about Mr. Aiken, but I don't think Lewis Jacobson is in on this."

"Why not?" asked Velma.

"He has a job at City Hall. I mean, janitors don't get paid much, but my dad told me that Lewis Jacobson still works there. He's not on strike." He paused. "Although, sometimes my dad does lie to me when something is top-secret City Hall business."

"I want to check out the printing press in the basement," Velma said. "I want to see if it's been used recently." The five of them slunk back into the building, although Scooby and Shaggy were very reluctant. On the way, Daphne and Fred told Velma, Shaggy and Scooby about following Mrs. Reynolds into the woods, and their encounter with the Wendigo.

"Like, did it touch you?" Shaggy was terrified of his friends – or himself – getting Wendigo Fever.

"No, thank God," Daphne replied. "You were right though. It's a really scary looking thing."

"And like you really think Mrs. Reynolds is…" Shaggy could hardly bear to even think the word. _Dead._

"I want to know what the Wendigo is hiding down there," Fred spoke up, changing the subject. "I think we should go back and investigate."

"Man, like, are you insane?" Shaggy cried. "It like, ate a woman!"

"Let's do it tomorrow," Velma said, ignoring Shaggy's hysterics. "Right now, I want to investigate the basement."

When they arrived, they were unsure of where to begin.

"There are so many rooms," Daphne stated. "Where should we start?"

"I know where it is," Velma said. "I saw it one day in September when I got lost on my way to study hall." She turned into a room that Shaggy recognized as the one that he'd smoked in on his first day of school. He hadn't seen a printing press in there. Evidently, he hadn't seen it because it hadn't been there.

"It's gone!" Velma cried. "It used to sit on the desk on that far wall!"

"Who would steal a printing press?" Fred wondered.

"Someone who wanted to make fake money," Daphne replied.

"Maybe it wasn't stolen," Shaggy spoke up. "Maybe it was just like, moved." So the five of them scoured every inch of the basement. No one found the printing press.

"I don't understand," Velma said. "You can't just walk out of the front door _holding_ a printing press. It's too heavy. And someone would certainly see you with it."

Suddenly, they all got very quiet. They heard footsteps coming from the staircase.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy shrieked in a whisper. "We're like, gonna get caught!" Scooby stood behind Shaggy, terrified.

"No we're not!" Velma said. "The window! We can jump out!"

The five of them high-tailed it out of there and raced back to Shaggy's car.


	10. Hello, Seattle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters – they belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 10: Hello, Seattle**

Shaggy had taken the keys back from Fred and assumed the driver's position since he was the only one legally old enough to do it. Shaggy had gotten in quite enough trouble for one day. For a whole lifetime. Fred rode shotgun, and the girls and Scooby sat in the back. Shaggy drove out of the parking lot.

"So like, hey," he said, desperate to head off a discussion about the Wendigo, the disappearing printing press, and all other aspects of this mystery before they started. "You guys remember how the other day I said I wanted to paint this van?"

Everyone remembered.

"Well," Shaggy said. "Tomorrow is Saturday, and I was thinking I would do it then. Do you guys, wanna like, come over to help?"

"Sounds good," Fred replied. "And then after we paint the van, we can go check out the Wendigo's lair."

Scooby groaned, and Shaggy sighed in defeat. This was exactly what he had wanted to avoid. _Well, maybe painting will like, distract everybody from the Wendigo._

Incredibly enough, no one else brought up the mystery for the rest of the ride. Shaggy dropped each of his friends off at their houses, then he and Scooby devoured their dinner, and turned in early, each falling into fitful slumbers.

x.X.x

When his friends arrived the following morning, Shaggy led them out to the garage, where he'd already set the cans of paint.

"You like green, blue and orange, Shaggy?" asked Fred.

"Like those are the only colors I could find, man," Shaggy said. "All my other paint cans were like, lost in the move."

"That sucks," Daphne said sympathetically.

"Do you have a specific design in mind, Shaggy?" asked Velma.

"Well like, I was thinking of maybe doing blue for a base color," he said. "And then like, just playing around with the green and orange. Maybe paint like, a few flowers. I want it to be like, psychedelic."

"Groovy!" Daphne exclaimed and everyone laughed. They set to work.

Fred and Shaggy took one side of the van while Daphne and Velma took the other side. Scooby painted the top, occasionally sending splatters of paint down which the humans had to dodge to avoid.

"So how's it coming with you and Shaggy?" Daphne whispered as she and Velma painted. Velma felt her face go red.

"Um…what do you mean?" she asked although she knew very well what she meant.

"Have you asked him out yet?" asked Daphne.

"…No," Velma admitted. Daphne pouted.

"Why not?" Daphne asked.

"I've…I've never been very good at the whole dating thing. I just met him. I don't want to ruin a friendship," Velma told her. "Besides, I don't even know if he feels the same way."

Daphne thought for a while. Suddenly, an idea struck her and she smiled.

"Well, you know what they say, don't you?" she asked. "The way to a man's heart is through his…" She waited for Velma to finish the sentence.

"…Stomach?" Velma guessed.

"Well…yes, but that wasn't what I was getting at, although that might work too," Daphne told her. "The way to a man's heart is through his dog." She nodded her head upwards at Scooby Doo. "If you get Scooby to like you, then Shaggy won't be far behind."

"How would I go about doing this?" asked Velma. Daphne reached down into her purse and pulled out a large box of dog treats.

"I bought these to bribe Scooby with in case he's too chicken to go search for the Wendigo later," Daphne told her. "I think you should be the one who carries these." Velma looked at the box of treats for a few moments, grinned, and put them in her own backpack.

"Thank you, Daphne," she murmured. Daphne beamed brilliantly at her.

"No problem, Velm," she replied. "That's what friends are for."

x.X.x

As Fred had said of their research at the library, many hands made light work. Within a few hours, Shaggy's van looked exactly the way he'd hoped it would look. It was blue, with green and orange flowery designs all over. Unfortunately, it seemed to be missing something.

"You're right," Velma agreed when he mentioned this to her. "It doesn't seem like it's finished."

"Well we can take a break," Fred said. "In the meantime, let's go look for the Wendigo!" He rummaged around in the backpack he brought with him and pulled out five forks.

"…Fred, what are those for?" asked Daphne.

"Silver repels the monster, remember?" he reminded her.

"Um…I don't think that silver _ware_ repels it," Velma told him. "Why don't we head over to my house? My sister's husband actually _does_ have silver bullets."

So the five of them headed over to Velma's, though Shaggy and Scooby did so reluctantly.

"No one's home right now," Velma explained on the way over. "Dottie and Bill are house-hunting, Madelyn is with friends, and Mom and Dad are out." Velma pulled out her house key, let the gang into her house and led them upstairs. "Dottie and Bill are staying in my bedroom, so all his stuff is in there." Quickly, she entered the room, and the others followed her. Shaggy looked around. Even though Velma said her sister and her husband were staying in this room, he could see traces of Velma everywhere. Her bedspread, big surprise, was orange. Her bookcase was cluttered with classic novels. Above the desk was a bulletin board that held a calendar, a few awards – and the picture of her that he'd drawn on the first day they met. Shaggy couldn't help but smile when he saw it.

"All right, I've got them. Let's go," Velma said, handing each of them several bullets, and leading them back into the hallway.

"I'm still not exactly sure how this is supposed to work," Daphne said. "I mean, what are we going to do? Throw these at the Wendigo?"

Fred snorted in amusement.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Velma said. She – along with everyone else – was hoping that they wouldn't actually run into the Wendigo.

x.X.x

Once they left Velma's house, they silently made their way through the foliage.

"Which way did Mrs. Reynolds go?" asked Velma.

"I don't know. We followed her from the other side of the forest," Fred told her.

"Hmm. Maybe we should just go back to the place that we last saw it, huh Shaggy?" Velma turned to look at him.

"Um…" Shaggy paused.

"Ruh-uh! Roh ray!" Scooby exclaimed forcefully. Velma grinned and reached into her backpack and pulled out the box of dog treats.

"What are those?" asked Fred.

"Scooby Snacks," Velma replied.

"Like, Scooby Doo loves those treats. It's where his name came from," Shaggy spoke up. He deliberately did _not_ mention that he enjoyed them as well.

"Roh roy! Rooby Racks!" Scooby exclaimed, smacking his lips excitedly. Velma laughed as she tossed a few of the treats into Scooby's eagerly waiting mouth. "Rooby Rooby Roo!" With that, the dog headed bravely for the forest with the others in tow.

They arrived at the clearing where Shaggy, Velma and Scooby had first seen the beast within minutes.

"Freddie!" Daphne touched the young man's arm and pointed. "Isn't that the tree?"

"I think so," Fred said. Silently, he made his way to the tree as the others followed close behind. He lifted up the root and sure enough, the side of the tree opened up.

"That is just like, too weird," Shaggy remarked as he and the others entered the door.

"Reah. Roo reird," Scooby agreed. He was beginning to get scared again. The five of them climbed down the rickety staircase and Velma pulled out a flashlight.

"What do you think this tunnel is?" wondered Daphne.

"Well, Coolsville used to be a stop on the Underground Railroad," Velma said. "I wouldn't be surprised if this tunnel was created to help escaped slaves move further north." She made a mental note to do some more research

Shaggy shook his head in disbelief. How did this girl know so much about everything?

"Which way should we go?" asked Velma.

"The Wendigo came from the left," Daphne said.

"Then let's like, avoid that tunnel?" Shaggy suggested. To his surprise, everyone agreed.

"I want to know what he's hiding down there," Fred spoke up, taking the lead down the tunnel on the right. Velma handed him her flashlight. Silently, the others followed behind him, walking down the dank and dirty tunnel. At last, they reached the end.

The gang found themselves standing in the doorway a large room. Unfortunately, that was all they could tell about the place they were standing. Even with the flashlight, it was so dark they could see virtually nothing else.

"EEEK!" cried Daphne as she tripped over something in the dark.

"Are you okay Daph?" asked Fred, rushing to her side.

"I'm fine," she told him as he helped her up. "I just tripped over something."

"What was it?" Velma whispered.

Fred shined his flashlight at the thing that Daphne had tripped over. They discovered a thick cable.

"What is that, like, a wire?" asked Shaggy. Curiously, Velma took the wire in her hands and followed it to the wall.

"There's a light switch here," she said, confusedly. "I didn't think you could get electricity down here." Nonetheless, she flicked on the switch.

Surrounding the gang were hundreds of stacks of brand new twenty dollar bills. In the center of the room was a printing press.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy gasped. "Like, so that's where the printing press went!"

"I think we just found the counterfeiters' hideout," Daphne said.

"But how did they get the printing press here?" wondered Fred.

"…You know, gang," Velma said quietly. "I think I'm beginning to figure this mystery out."

"What are you talking about, Velma?" asked Daphne. Velma looked at her.

"Do you think any of this is a coincidence?" Velma asked. "The janitor's strike…the disappearance of Paul Reynolds…the counterfeit money…the Wendigo…"

"Hold on," Fred said, holding his hands up. "Are you saying that they're all connected?"

"Precisely," Velma replied. "The only question is 'how'?"

"I bet the Wendigo is just a cover up," Fred said. "A story to keep people away from the woods."

"Then what happened to Mrs. Reynolds yesterday?" Daphne murmured. Everyone was silent.

"I think now's a good time to follow that other tunnel," Fred said. Now that the room was flooded with light, it was easier to look around. They discovered several more flashlights under the desk where the printing press sat. Everyone in the gang took one, turned off the light in the printing press room, and went silently down the tunnel. They passed by the staircase and the flaming torch that lit the mouths of the two tunnels. They continued down the left tunnel silently. Along the wall, lined up neatly, their flashlights illuminated cooler after cooler. The gang looked in each, but they were all empty, so they didn't question it further. Finally, at the end of the tunnel, they reached a second staircase.

"Let's see where it goes," Fred said, climbing the stairs with the others in tow. It was a short staircase that led to a trap door in the ceiling. Cautiously, Fred pushed on it.

Everyone peeked their heads up out of the door.

"Where are we?" asked Daphne.

"I'm not sure…" Fred replied. But Velma realized where they were.

"Jinkies!" she exclaimed. "We're in the school basement!" Everyone soon realized that Velma was right – they were peering out of a large tile in the classroom where the printing press had used to be.

"I guess we know how the printing press got out of the school now," Fred said.

"This proves it," Velma said.

"Proves what?" asked Daphne.

"That Mr. Aiken and Lewis Jacobson are the ones behind the counterfeits!" she replied.

"I don't know…it could be _anyone_ who works in the school," Daphne pointed out.

"Velma's right, though. Mr. Aiken and Lewis Jacobson make the most sense," Fred spoke up.

"And if the Wendigo _is_ fake, it would take at least two people to operate that suit," Daphne added. "It's a huge monster."

"So like, what do we do now?" asked Shaggy. Everyone paused.

"I don't know," Fred admitted. "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"Neither did I," Velma added. "Maybe go to the sheriff?"

"That's so boring and predictable, though," Daphne said. "Can you imagine what kind of news we'd make if the town learned that a couple of kids had solved this mystery?"

"Well, we can think about that later," Fred said. "Let's go home."

"Reah! Rime rungry!" Scooby barked.

"Like, I'm hungry too," Shaggy replied. Velma checked her watch.

"My parents should be home by now," Velma told them. "Let's go see if they can feed us."

x.X.x

Madelyn Dinkley had had a bad day.

It had started out okay. She and her friends, Jane, Kerri and Lana had played dolls at Kerri's house all morning. They all had enough allowance money to go to the malt shop, so they decided to get some hot chocolate.

Unfortunately, just as they finished their hot chocolates, trouble appeared.

"Well, well, well," sneered Rowena (Raw) Herring, the younger sister of a boy who was in Velma's grade. Raw did not like Madelyn and her friends. "If it isn't Little Doe-Eyes Dinkley."

"Ignore her," Jane advised Madelyn in a whisper.

"How're those kickball skills coming?" asked Raw as she and her minions snickered. Madelyn felt her face go red as she remembered yesterday's recess. Madelyn wasn't the most coordinated person on the planet and yesterday she had gone to kick the ball, completely missed, and fell flat on her back.

"Leave her alone!" snarled Lana, the most outspoken in this group of friends.

"Who's gonna make her?" asked Kim Lordsburg, one of Raw's friends.

"It's not like Dinkley's gonna stand up for herself. She can't do ANYTHING herself!" cried the other girl, Holly Richards, gleefully.

"That's not true!" Madelyn tried to defend herself.

"Name one skill you have, Dinkley," Raw challenged her. Madelyn bit her lip and paused. She wasn't very good at sports. Okay, that much was established. She was good in school, but that wasn't something that she exactly wanted to brag about. Besides, Velma was ten times smarter than her.

"Look at her!" exclaimed Kim. "She can't think of anything!" Madelyn felt her face grow hot.

"Shut up, Kim!" shouted Lana, rising to her feet with venom in her eyes.

"Please don't fight," Kerri whimpered.

"Yeah, you know I could kick your butt," Kim said.

"We'll see about that!" Lana challenged her.

"Stop!" cried Jane, also rising and stepping between Lana and Kim. "I don't want to get kicked out of the malt shop, so let's go." She took Madelyn by the wrist and led her out of the shop with Kerri dragging Lana along behind her.

"See you in school, _losers!"_ cackled Raw.

"Ignore them, Madds," Jane said. "They're so not worth your time."

"Besides, you have plenty of talents," Kerri comforted her.

"Like what?" Madelyn asked bitterly.

There was a pause. The other three thought about their specific skills. Kerri had a beautiful singing voice. Lana was phenomenal at sports. Jane was a magnificent writer.

But Madelyn? They couldn't think of anything. She wasn't extremely fabulous at anything she did. She was just…average.

Madelyn felt tears welling in her eyes and looked down. "Never mind," she sighed. "I have to go. I'll see you guys later." With that, she turned down her street, trying very hard not to cry. When she walked into the front door of her house, she found her parents and sisters sitting at the kitchen table, with Dottie's husband and Velma's friends standing around the kitchen. Upon seeing Shaggy, Madelyn immediately dried her eyes.

"So…we have news," Dottie was saying when she noticed Madelyn walking in. Everyone looked up.

"Hi," Madelyn said. Everyone greeted Madelyn, then turned their attention back to Dottie.

"What news, sweetheart?" asked Mrs. Dinkley.

"Bill and I have found a house," Dottie announced. The Dinkleys gasped collectively. Velma's friends all glanced at one another.

"It's small," Bill said. "But not too small. Just the right size for a family starting out. And we got a really good deal on it, too."

"Where's the house?" asked Mr. Dinkley.

"Er…that's the thing," Dottie hedged. "It's um…it's in Seattle."

There was a silence.

"Seattle? Seattle, Washington?" Mrs. Dinkley murmured.

"We know that it's far away," Dottie said. "But we couldn't find any affordable houses nearby. This one was the best deal we got. And…Bill and I went to college in Seattle after all…"

"I understand," Mrs. Dinkley said. "It's just…it's a lot to absorb."

"Well, congratulations, Dottie," Velma said. "If you'll excuse us, my friends and I have some things to talk about." Velma quickly exited the room with her friends following close behind her. The elder Dinkleys and Bill hardly seemed aware of this. Madelyn slunk after them, also unnoticed.

"Like, what was the big rush, Velm?" asked Shaggy. They walked upstairs and headed for Velma's room. Madelyn stayed out in the hallway and eavesdropped.

"Yeah, won't your parents think it's um…rude that we walked out in the middle of the conversation?" wondered Daphne as tactfully as she could.

"No," Velma said. "That discussion is really for them and Dottie and Bill. They won't mind that we left."

"So what are we doing out here?" asked Fred.

"We need to figure out a way to catch the Wendigo," Velma said. Madelyn furrowed her brow. What was a Wendigo?

"You mean, prove that the monster in the woods isn't really a monster?" Fred said. "And expose him for the counterfeiter he is?"

" _They_ , Freddie," Daphne reminded him. "There are probably two of them."

"Right," Fred stated. "So what should we do?"

"Like, don't you think we should be _sure_ of our facts before we go around accusing everybody?" asked Shaggy. He was reluctant to pursue this mystery much further and wanted to stall them for as long as he could.

"That's not a bad idea, Shaggy," Velma said. "Let's go over all of our clues." And they did, right there in Velma's room.

All the while, Madelyn listened in as a plan formed in her head.

What if her whole school found out that _she_ had uncovered this mystery? The case of the counterfeit money would be solved! That would show Raw Herring that Madelyn was good for something.

She could hardly wait to get started.


	11. Downtown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Warnings: language, alcohol, drinking games, and drunk teenagers. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters – they belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 11: Downtown**

Later that same afternoon, the gang walked downtown. Their original idea was to go to the library and try to plan out some ways to capture the Wendigo and prove that it wasn't real, but before they could, trouble found them.

As they walked down the street, they saw five people come out of a grocery store and begin walking towards them. Maureen Fischer, Rachael Amora and Phoebe Albion were walking out of a grocery store with a couple of boys. Each person carried a grocery bag. The gang saw Maureen and her crowd first.

"Uh oh…" Daphne muttered.

"Like, who are the dudes?" asked Shaggy. He recognized the red-headed one from his World History class.

"Brandon Michaels is the guy on the far left," Velma told him. "The red-headed kid is Red Herring. Fred hates him."

"Like, why?" asked Shaggy.

"I don't actually know," Velma admitted. "It's just known around school that they don't like each other."

Fred overheard this and sighed.

"I don't like him because of what happened with Daphne," he whispered.

"Rut rar roo ralking rabout?" asked Scooby.

"Red and Daphne dated for like, ten months," Fred told them. "I think they broke up…how long ago was it?" He broke off, trying to remember.

"We broke up right before school started," Daphne replied. She had been eavesdropping. She looked like she was about to say more but was unable to because the others had arrived in front of them. The ten of them all stopped.

"Hey Lesbo Geek," Maureen stated with fake sweetness.

"Hey Slut Face," Daphne replied just as artificially. Maureen's face clouded over in a scowl. Shaggy shifted his eyes nervously around at his friends. Scooby stood by his master's side loyally. Fred and Velma stood with their fists clenched, glaring at the other group.

"Hello, Fred," Red said with malice in his voice.

"Hello, Red," Fred replied through gritted teeth. Scooby noticed the rhyme and almost laughed, but the looks on their faces were so serious that he didn't.

"Well…uh…" Shaggy began, obviously trying to get everyone out of this awkward situation. "We should like…probably be going. Right, Scoob?"

"Reah!" Scooby agreed whole-heartedly. He began to strut passed Maureen and the others, but his tail caught on one of the handles of the grocery bag that Red was carrying. As Scooby walked by, he accidentally jerked the bag from Red's hands, spilling the contents of the bag on the side walk. A lone can of beer rolled out and stopped at Scooby's feet.

Everyone stared at it for a couple of seconds before Red hastily heaved it up and threw it back in the grocery bag.

"Dumb dog," he muttered. Scooby Doo glared at him.

"Like, what's the beer for?" Shaggy accidentally wondered out loud. He blushed when he realized he'd spoken.

Brandon, who obviously had no idea of any animosity between his friends and the gang, said, "There's a party at my place tonight around nine. You guys are totally invited. There'll be lots of beer!" He gestured to the other grocery bags, indicating that each person had a case in his or her bag.

"We'll think about it," Fred said. "For now we'd better get going." With that, he waved his hand and he and the rest of the gang walked on.

"That could have been so much worse than it was," Daphne sighed in relief once they were out of earshot.

"Why do you think they invited us to the party?" wondered Velma. "None of them like us."

"Well, Brandon has his head in the clouds," Daphne pointed out. "He's almost as bad as Fred."

"What?" asked Fred, who clearly had not been paying attention. The girls giggled, but Velma stopped abruptly.

"Jinkies," she muttered. "You know where Brandon Michaels lives, don't you?"

"…Do you?" asked Fred.

"He lives in Cedar Creek – the same neighborhood as Mr. Aiken." Velma looked at them.

"Wait a minute," Daphne said after a few moments. "How do you know where Mr. Aiken lives?"

"I did some research," Velma replied vaguely.

"What are you suggesting?" Fred asked.

"That we go to the party as a pretense for actually snooping around Mr. Aiken's house," Velma said. "There's bound to be something incriminating lying around."

"Like, what now?" Shaggy exclaimed, aghast.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Fred said. "Being at the party would give us an alibi."

"Do you hear yourself?!" Shaggy hissed. "You guys want to like, break into a teacher's house?"

"Rar roo razy?" Scooby asked them.

"Well if you guys are too chicken to come…" Daphne murmured.

"Like hell yeah I'm a chicken," Shaggy proclaimed, while Scooby strutted around pretending his arms were wings, making clucking sounds. "But it's like, not about that. It's like…you guys getting in trouble." He sighed. "I like, can't let you guys get in trouble for this by yourselves." Resignedly, he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"So here's the plan then," Fred said, gathering everyone around. "We'll all head to Brandon's house around 9:30ish, as a…what word did you use, Velma? A preference?"

"Pretense, Fred," Velma replied.

"Right," Fred replied. "Then, we sneak out the back door and head over to Mr. Aiken's place to see if we can snoop around his house." He turned his gaze to the dog. "Scooby, can you help us pick the lock?"

"Roger, Reddie!" Scooby replied, saluting him.

x.X.x

Unfortunately for the gang, the evening did not go as planned.

First of all, they were late getting to the party because Shaggy and Scooby got lost. They arrived around ten, but Brandon was glad to see them all the same. A loud, pulsing bass line greeted them.

"Sooooooooo glad you guys were able to make it!" he laughed as he let them in. "Last-minute invites are the best! Here's to spontaneity!" He hoisted his can of beer in the air before taking a very long sip.

"I'm confused as to why we even came to this party instead of just heading straight for Aiken's house," Velma murmured. She was clearly uncomfortable. Unsure of what else to do, Shaggy took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"It's for the alibi," Daphne reminded her. "That way, if for some reason anyone asks us what we did tonight, we can say we came to this party, and people will remember seeing us."

"Come on, gang," Fred said over the music. "Let's head out." They made their way through the house, careful not to get separated. Unfortunately, however, they didn't make it to the back door.

"Oh my God, is that Daphne Blake?" Upon hearing her name, the red-head turned around to see a small Asian girl running towards her.

"Ashley?" Daphne replied. Before she had time to say anything else, the short Asian girl wrapped her arms around Daphne, almost spilling the beer she clutched in her hand.

"I can't believe you're here!" the girl squealed. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Uh…it's great to see you too, Ash," Daphne replied as she wrenched herself from the girl's arms.

"What's going on, Daph?" Fred asked loud enough for only Daphne and the others to hear.

"Gang, this is Ashley Hoang," Daphne attempted to introduce them, but Ashley was still too excited about Daphne to pay attention.

"I can't believe you're here!" Ashley exclaimed again. "Oh my gosh you HAVE to see everyone! The entire old group is here! They're gonna FLIP when you realize you're here!" With that, Ashley grabbed Daphne's hand and yanked her into the crowd.

"Daphne!" Fred exclaimed. He rolled his eyes. "All right well, it's not necessary that we all stay at this party, so Velma, why don't you and I find Daph. Shaggy and Scooby can go scope out Aiken's house and we'll meet there when we get Daph?"

"Like…you mean…Scoob and me will sneak over to Mr. Aiken's house…in the dark…alone?" Shaggy did not like this plan.

"You'll be fine," Fred assured them. "Aiken's house is only one block away. I'll text you the address."

"Rye ron't rant to," Scooby whimpered. Velma's face took on a small smirk as she reached into her backpack and took out a box of Scooby Snacks. Immediately, Scooby perked up.

"Do you want to now?" Velma asked.

"Like _I_ want to," Shaggy said. Suddenly, his face turned red. He hadn't been planning on telling his new friends that he occasionally ate dog treats. Velma and Fred both looked at him, but neither seemed very surprised by this confession. In fact, Velma smiled a bit. She reached into the box and pulled out two Scooby Snacks. One she tossed to Scooby, who all but inhaled it. The next, she placed in Shaggy's palm. They grinned at each other before he gobbled it down.

"Like come on, Scooby Doo," Shaggy said with a sigh. "Let's go spy on a teacher."

x.X.x

Ashley had dragged Daphne into the next room where a game of beer pong was currently underway. The players, at the moment, were Maureen Fischer and Brandon Michaels against Rachael Amora and Phoebe Albion. Maureen and Brandon were clearly winning.

"Daphne and I are playing winner!" Ashley proclaimed to the room.

"Um Ash, I really don't have time –" Daphne protested but was interrupted by another voice.

"How about Daphne teams up with _me_ and we play winner?" Daphne whirled around and found herself face-to-face with her ex-boyfriend, Red Herring. She felt her face go scarlet.

"Hello, Red," she said coolly. He smirked at her – a look she used to love. He had changed greatly from the beefy kid he'd been in his youth. He was still large, but it was all muscle nowadays. He was, after all, the star linebacker on the JV football team. He was very attractive, Daphne couldn't deny that. And besides, their hair matched. They had been the "it" couple freshman year.

"Whaddaya say, Daph?" Red asked. "We used to be the best pong team. No one could beat us." Daphne paused. It was a tempting offer. She and Red had always been fantastic at beer pong. There was a brief burst of cheering from the table as Maureen and Brandon won the game.

"Yeah, come on Blake," Maureen taunted. "Brandon and I will be happy to take you and Red on." Maureen had obviously had a few, as had Red and pretty much every other person in the nearby vicinity. Daphne was the only sober person in the room. She glanced around at Maureen smirking at her, Ashley egging her on with lots of nodding, and Red holding out his hand to her. Daphne grinned and took Red's hand. _It's for the alibi,_ she reminded herself.

"You're on, Fischer," she said.

x.X.x

Fred and Velma were side-tracked in their search for Daphne when they were discovered by Tony Moretti. He wasn't drunk, but he was rather tipsy.

"Dinks!" he exclaimed upon seeing Velma. "I never thought I'd see you at a party like this!"

"Well…here I am," she grinned uncomfortably.

"And Jonesey! You're here too!" Tony was beside himself with glee.

"Uh…Tony you haven't seen Daphne Blake around anywhere, have you?" Fred asked. They didn't have time for shenanigans like this.

"Blake? Nah I haven't seen her, but I'm sure she'll turn up here sooner or later. We're about to play Kings if you guys want to join in."

"Um…" Velma turned to Fred. "What's Kings?"

"It's a drinking game," Fred replied. "I'll explain the rules before we play."

"We're – we're not actually _playing_ , are we?" Velma was flabbergasted. Tony put a hand on Velma's shoulder.

"Don't worry Dinks, it's not bad," he promised her. Velma glanced at Fred.

"We're supposed to be finding Daphne," she reminded him.

"We'll play one round, and then we'll get her. I promise," Fred told her. Velma looked at the boys, each of them staring at her wide-eyed and hopeful. "It's for the alibi, Velma," Fred whispered.

 _What am I getting myself into?_ Velma wondered. She sighed.

"One round," she told them. "But that's it."

x.X.x

Meanwhile, Scooby and Shaggy were crouched behind the bushes near Mr. Aiken's house, quivering with cold as much as fear.

"L-l-l-like…should we look in the window, Scoob?" Shaggy asked, teeth chattering.

"Rye ron't roe…" Scooby replied just as nervously. Shaggy took a deep breath.

"Like, okay," he said. "We'll peek in the windows and if we don't see him, we'll call the gang and tell them to like, bag it. Sound good?"

"Rye rike it," Scooby agreed. Silently, the pair sneaked over to one of the windows and peered in. They were met with darkness.

"Like let's go around to the other side of the house," Shaggy said. They crept around the house but on their way, they discovered something rather odd.

"Raggy?" Scooby began. "Rye ris re rarage rore ropen?" Shaggy turned his head. Indeed, the garage door was open.

"Like, I don't know, Scooby Doo," Shaggy replied. "Like, there's no car in the garage." He glanced at his canine companion. "Like, I bet Aiken's not home."

"Rall Relma," Scooby suggested. Shaggy took his phone out of his pocket and selected Velma's name in his contacts list.

"What's up, Shag?" Velma asked. There was a lot of background noise on her end.

"Like, how's the search for Daphne coming?" Shaggy asked her as loudly as he dared.

"Well, Fred and Tony wrangled me into playing a game of Kings," Velma said. "So we might be a while yet. What did you find out at Aiken's house?"

"Like he's not here, Velm," Shaggy told her. "His garage door is wide open and like, his car isn't here."

"Can you get into the house?" Velma asked. Shaggy paused.

"Um…I mean like, I guess…"

"Shaggy, you and Scooby start snooping. I'll try to get out of this game and I'll meet you at Aiken's house." With that, Velma hung up the phone. Shaggy stared at it dumbfounded for a few moments.

"Rut rid re ray?" asked Scooby. Shaggy gulped.

"Like…she's making us go inside his house."

x.X.x

"Fred, you can find Daphne without my help, can't you?" Velma had been pleading with Fred to let her join Shaggy and Scooby but Fred wouldn't hear of it.

"Come on, Velm," he protested. "You've never been to a party before in your life. Leave the mystery alone for a while and just have some fun. I promise we'll get Daph and join Shag and Scoob as soon as this round of Kings is over."

"I really shouldn't…" Velma trailed off. Tony, who hadn't heard any of the previous conversation, suddenly grabbed Velma's wrist and tugged her towards a table where four other kids were sitting.

"Guys," Tony said. "These are my friends Velma Dinkley and Fred Jones." Then, to Velma and Fred, "Guys, these are Sadie MacElroy, Patrick Kutner, Rob King, and Laura Greer." Fred and Velma each raised a hand in greeting. Tony gestured for them to sit down. Fred took a seat next to Rob and after a few minutes, Velma reluctantly sat between Tony and Fred.

"Okay, how do you play?" Velma asked.

"Each person goes around and draws a card," Fred explained. "Two means you, which means that you choose someone to take a drink. Three is me, which means that you take a drink. Four is floor, which means the last person to hit the floor takes a drink. Five is guys, which means that all the guys take a drink. Six is chicks, which means that all the girls take a drink. "

"Seven is heaven, which is when everyone puts their hands in the air and the last person to do that drinks," Tony continued. "Eight is mate which means that you choose someone to take a drink with you. Nine is bust a rhyme, so we go around in a circle and rhyme words and the first person to mess up drinks. Ten means categories, so we give a generic thing, like types of cars and we list as many as we can and the first person to mess up drinks. Jack is never have I ever, where you put three fingers up and the first person to lose all three fingers during never have I ever takes a drink. Queen is questions, which is when you go around the circle asking only questions and the first person to mess up takes a drink. King is you make up a rule, usually a rule like every time you drink, another person has to drink."

"What's ace?" asked Velma.

"Ace is either waterfall or hot seat, depending on who you play with," Fred explained. "With waterfall, everyone takes a drink and you only stop drinking when the person next to you stops drinking. With hot seat, you ask a yes or no question to the person who drew the card and if the answer is yes, he drinks and if the answer is no, you drink."

"I like playing hot seat better, personally," Tony said. "Let's play that way." He grinned at Velma, and she grinned back.

x.X.x

"Hold on hold on hold on!" Ashley shouted as Daphne and Red made their way to the table. "Let's make this more interesting."

"What do you mean?" asked Red. Ashley grinned.

"The team that loses has to kiss their partner!" Ashley squealed. Daphne felt her face go red.

"Uh…" she started to protest, but Maureen and Brandon seemed to like the idea. As did Red.

"Haha, you're going down, Blake!" Maureen sneered. "You'll have to kiss your ex!"

"Not a chance!" Daphne shot back.

"Yeah Fischer!" Red agreed. "Daph and I are gonna wipe the floor with you. As usual."

"We'll see!" Brandon exclaimed.

Daphne was so caught up in the moment that she didn't even notice the fact that Red looked disappointed at the notion of not kissing her.

x.X.x

Shaggy and Scooby had stealthily snuck into Mr. Aiken's house through the garage door and found themselves in a foyer type area. There wasn't a soul in sight.

"Rut rar ree rooking ror, Raggy?" asked Scooby. Shaggy shook his head.

"I have like, no idea, Scoob," Shaggy whispered. "Let's like, start in the kitchen."

"Rokay!" Scooby agreed whole-heartedly. They opened every single cabinet door and the fridge. There was quite a bit of food stocked up.

"Like, jackpot Scooby Doo!" Shaggy exclaimed excitedly. Before either of them knew it, they were stuffing their faces with the contents of the fridge and the pantry.

They only stopped when they realized that they'd been eating for almost an hour.

"Rikes!" Scooby exclaimed when he noticed the time.

"We should like, get out of here," Shaggy said. "We'll like, go back to the party and tell the others that we didn't find anything." He looked around at the mess they'd left. "Like, maybe we should clean up a bit, huh?"

"Reah," Scooby sighed. For having such full stomachs, they did a pretty good job cleaning up. The kitchen sparkled twenty minutes later. "Rey, Raggy?" Shaggy looked over from the corner that he was sweeping to see that Scooby Doo held a note in his mouth. "Rook rut Rye round," Scooby said, setting the note on the counter.

"Like, what's this?" Shaggy wondered, taking the note from his dog. His eyes bugged out. "Zoinks! Like, this is the same handwriting as that note that we found in his desk the other day," Shaggy murmured. He read the note out loud.

"' _Don't worry. We can fix this. No one has to find out. Meet tonight at the same place. Bring the greens._ '" Shaggy furrowed his brow. "Like, what could this mean?"

"Raybe rey realized re round re rinting ress," Scooby said. It took Shaggy a minute to figure out what he'd said.

"Like, I bet you're right, Scooby Doo!" Shaggy exclaimed. "But like, how could they have possibly figured out that we found the printing press?"

"Rye ron't roe," Scooby shrugged. Shaggy looked at the note again.

"Like, where'd you find this?" he asked.

"Rin re ruddy," Scooby replied. "Rye ruz rooking ror ra rathroom."

"Where's the study?" asked Shaggy. Scooby pointed with his paw down the hall to a room that had a door ajar. "Like, let's see what else is in there." Shaggy and Scooby made their way down the hallway into the study. Silently, they shut the door behind them as they began to search through the papers on his desk.

"Raggy?" Scooby asked.

"Like yeah?"

"Rye rill raf ro ree." Shaggy rolled his eyes.

"Like, sorry Scooby Doo. You go to the bathroom. I'll wait in here for you." Scooby went over to the door and attempted to open it.

But it didn't open.

"Umm…" Shaggy was confused. He went over to try the door. But again, it wouldn't budge.

"Ris rit rocked?" Scooby wondered.

"Like, no…" Shaggy tried the door. "I think it's just like, stuck." He tried the door again. Nothing. "Like, maybe if we both push…" They tried. Nothing.

They were locked in.


	12. Get The Party Started

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Warnings: More language, more alcohol, more drinking games, more drunk teenagers. Also, some slight drunk kissing. Remember that drunkenness does not equal consent! Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

One round of Kings had turned to two, and two had turned to three. Velma had mixed emotions about the whole experience. On the one hand she was feeling a little lightheaded – sensory overload. On the other, she was feeling extremely buzzed and excited. Almost antsy. But she liked it. Although there was something tugging at the back of her mind. She felt as though she was forgetting something very important. But she was too focused on the game to really care.

"King!" Tony exclaimed as he drew a king from the deck of cards. "Hmm…the rule is that after every sentence you say, you have to add the words, 'in bed!'" As an afterthought, Tony added, "In bed."

Velma, Fred, and the others laughed.

"Sounds good to me in bed!" Fred said, causing everyone to burst into laughter again. Tony placed his card under the stay-tab of the beer in the middle of the table and Velma drew a card.

"Six! Uh, in bed!" she cried as she, Sadie and Laura all took drinks from their cans and the guys cheered. Velma was definitely feeling buzzed. Maybe even drunk, but who could tell? All she knew was that she was feeling light and floaty and giggly. She carefully put her card under the stay-tab – if it popped open, she would have to chug it – and Fred drew a card.

"Ace!" he cried. "Hot seat. Ask me whatever your heart desires in bed!" Velma was glad Rob was going first because she needed time to think of questions that hadn't already been asked in the previous rounds. But Rob had a question all ready.

"Do you ever fantasize about sleeping with Daphne Blake in bed?" Rob asked.

"Who DOESN'T fantasize about sleeping with Daphne Blake in bed?" Patrick responded. Everyone roared with laughter other than Velma and Fred. Velma suddenly remembered what she was supposed to be doing.

"Fred, we have to find her!" she whispered. "Shaggy and Scooby are at Mr. Aiken's house waiting for us!"

Fred nodded. "Right," he said. "I'll go find Daph. You go to the house and wait for us." Velma paused. She wasn't sure how able Fred was to find Daphne on his own – he was pretty smashed. Velma wasn't feeling all that great herself but she knew she had to help Shaggy and Scooby snoop.

"Okay," she said. "Drink lots of water, okay? It won't sober you up but it'll help you from getting a hangover in the morning." With that, the two of them stood. Dizziness enveloped Velma and she took several deep breaths to steady herself.

"I have to find Daphne," Fred said as Velma slunk away, unnoticed.

"So you can sleep with her…IN BED!" The others laughed at Rob's statement but Fred ignored them and pushed his way through the crowd. He discovered her playing beer pong with Red Herring. Fred felt his blood boil.

"Hey there!" Red exclaimed upon seeing his teammate enter the room. "If it's not Fred Jones!" Daphne turned and grinned at him. Damn. Why was she so beautiful?

"Daph," Fred said, going to her. "We have to go. Remember what we're supposed to be doing?" Fred was feeling tipsy, but he knew that he had to get her out of there – she looked even drunker than he felt.

"Oh right!" she giggled. "Just let me grab my purse from upstairs." She turned to her beer pong mates. "I'm afraid I will have to leave you now. I have a top secret mission to attend to."

"Riiiiight, gonna get all kissy-kissy with Fred Jones?" Ashley giggled. Red and Maureen both heard her and scowled at Fred and Daphne. It was practically common knowledge that Red still had feelings for Daphne and that Maureen had a crush on Fred.

"God Blake, you're such a slut," Maureen sneered at her. "You're a whore."

Daphne bristled and turned back to Maureen. "Excuse me?"

"You've never paid attention to Fred in your life…why are you suddenly so interested in him?" Maureen's words slurred together from drunkenness, but she pressed on. "It's because you can't stand being alone. You're such a skank that you have to have a guy all the time!"

That was the last straw for Daphne. "Don't you call me a skank!" She propelled herself towards Maureen but out of nowhere, Tony Moretti came careening out of the other room and put himself between them.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he exclaimed, his New York accent heavier than ever. "No fighting. We don't want the neighbors to call the cops cuz we're being too loud."

"Fuck off Moretti, this is between me and Blake," Maureen snarled. Tony took Daphne's arm and passed her off to Fred.

"You two better get out of here," he said. "Everyone's pretty drunk. You need a ride home? My older brother's coming to pick me up soon."

"Uh…no thanks," Fred said. "We have something to do first. Shaggy's going to pick us up." Fred was surprised and how cohesive that statement was, considering how much his head was swimming. Tony nodded.

"Okay," he said. "Don't get into any trouble now. Let me know if you need anything. Dinks has my number…" Upon hearing Velma's nickname, the three of them looked around.

"…Where _is_ she, anyway?"

x.X.x

She, at the moment, was heading over to Mr. Aiken's house. She entered through the garage but found no sign of Shaggy and Scooby. Puzzled, she quietly called for them.

"Shaggy? Scooby?" she whispered. She wanted to be as quiet as possible in case someone WAS home. She made her way over to the sink and poured herself a glass of water. She didn't want to have a hangover in the morning either. Suddenly she heard a sound coming from behind the closed door of the study and jumped.

"H-hello?" she said tentatively. "Who's in there?"

"Like Velma? Is that you?" said a voice from inside the study. She recognized it.

"Shaggy!" she cried, running toward the door. She stopped abruptly. Whoa. Running while drunk. Not a good idea. She moaned while she waited for her head to stop spinning.

"Relma, rar roo rokay?" asked Scooby, also from inside the study. Velma carefully made her way to the door, talking as she went.

"I've been drinking," she admitted, shamefacedly. "Fred was too. We were playing Kings and…I'm not feeling so well."

"Like do you feel like you're going to throw up?" Shaggy asked. He'd had those nights where he'd drank too much too quickly and had to vomit immediately afterwards.

"No I think I'm just feeling lightheaded…" Velma sighed. She tried opening the door to the study, but found it wouldn't open. "Shaggy, unlock the door."

"It's not locked," Shaggy told her. "Like, the door is stuck. We're trapped!"

"Rye raf to ree," Scooby whined.

"How long have you guys been in there?" Velma asked them.

"I don't know…maybe like, fifteen minutes?"

"Well hold on, I'll try to get you out." Velma began trying to pull and push the door but it wouldn't budge. Everyone tried on both sides of the door, but to no avail. After several attempts, everyone eventually gave up and sat down, panting.

"I'll try again in a little while," Velma said, sitting against the door and leaning her head back. Shaggy did the same on the other side of the door.

There was a brief pause as everyone caught their breath.

"Like, so Velm, you're never gonna believe what Scooby Doo found," Shaggy's voice came from inside the study.

They told her about the note with the similar handwriting.

"Scooby, that's a great clue!" Velma was about to say something else, when they heard a noise from outside. Everyone froze.

"Did you like, hear that Scoob?" Shaggy asked his dog in a gulp.

"Reah," Scooby replied.

"So did I," Velma whispered.

A car had just pulled into the driveway.

x.X.x

"My purse is upstairs," Daphne said. "Brandon took it up there while I was playing beer pong so that it wasn't with a bunch of people…" Daphne trailed off, too drunk to finish the sentence. _Man_ was her head going to hurt in the morning. She kept looking over at Fred. Honestly, why had she ever pretended not to like him? He was so handsome. And he was so kind. And his grip on her arm was so gentle. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Daphne knew she was looking at him through the hazy lens of alcohol, and that she wouldn't be thinking all of this if she was sober.

…Would she?

Fred, on the other hand, was sobering up a little. He knew that he and Daphne needed water to keep themselves hydrated. He held her steady as they walked up the stairs. In one of the bedrooms were piles of coats and purses and such. Daphne began digging through trying to find her purse. Fred closed the door behind him. He hoped that Velma and Shaggy and Scooby were finding…something. Whatever it was they were supposed to be finding. He couldn't remember. He didn't like not being able to remember things.

"Found it!" Daphne exclaimed, holding up her purple purse.

"Great," Fred said. "Now let's-"

But Daphne didn't let him finish his sentence. She walked over to him and stood very close to him, lowering her lashes. Fred gulped.

"Uh…Daph?"

"Shh," she whispered, putting a finger to his mouth. Then, standing on her toes, she closed her eyes and gapped the distance between them with her lips.

Fred was taken aback at the contact of her soft, sweet kiss. He knew that this was a bad idea but he wasn't about to complain. He wasn't _totally_ sober yet, and here was the girl of his dreams, kissing him. Who was he to try to stop her? Fred closed his eyes and took her into his arms.

x.X.x

"Like Velm, you gotta hide!" Shaggy exclaimed from inside the study.

"Where?!" she cried, frantically.

"Like, anywhere!" Shaggy told her. "Just like, don't let him find you!" Without further thought, Velma dove behind the couch in the living room just as the garage door opened. In walked Mr. Aiken and immediately behind him was…Lewis Jacobson. Velma nearly gasped out loud but caught herself.

Mr. Aiken turned to Jacobson as if he was going to say something.

Then, from inside the study, Scooby whimpered.

Velma froze in fear. Mr. Aiken and Jacobson looked at each other and made their way to the study, walking right past Velma's hiding place as they did. She peered out from the other side of the couch as Mr. Aiken tried the door. When he failed, he motioned for Lewis Jacobson, and he kicked the door in.

"Who's there?" boomed Lewis Jacobson. Nothing happened. Then, to Velma's complete and utter horror, Jacobson reached into a holster she'd never noticed.

"I have a gun!" he thundered. "If you don't want me to use it you'd better show yourself!"

"No! Don't hurt them!" Velma exclaimed, jumping up from her hiding place. Aiken and Jacobson whirled around upon hearing her voice. Jacobson was still holding the gun up and Velma cringed and jumped away from it. Jacobson lowered it and Mr. Aiken looked at her quizzically.

"Velma?" he said, confused. "What are you doing in my house?"

"Like um…" came Shaggy's voice from the study. Aiken and Jacobson whirled back around to the open study door. Velma saw Shaggy and Scooby emerge from behind the desk. "She was here to like, try to help us out of the study. The door locked on us."

"It sticks," Mr. Aiken said faintly, obviously still shocked that two of his homeroom students were in his house. Lewis Jacobson looked confused.

"Would you mind telling me what you're doing in this man's house?" he asked. He allowed Shaggy and Scooby to pass him so that they could join Velma.

"We were…trying to find clues," Velma said as boldly as she could. She was feeling much more sober now, but still a little sick – although that may have been because she was so nervous. Aiken and Jacobson arched their eyebrows.

"Clues? To what?' asked Jacobson.

"We know that the monster in the Williow Springs Woods isn't a Wendigo," Velma told him. "It's just a guy in a mask, trying to scare people away from the woods so that they can make their counterfeit money in peace." Shaggy looked at her admiringly. She was so brave. Her boldness made him want to speak up, and he found his voice.

"Like, yeah!" Shaggy added fiercely. "And like, we also have a pretty good idea who's behind it!"

"Roo!" Scooby cried, pointing at the two men standing in front of them. Aiken and Jacobson glanced at each other.

"What makes you think we're behind the counterfeiting?" Aiken asked them.

"I found this note in your desk that Lewis Jacobson had Tony Moretti deliver to you," Velma replied, producing said note from the pocket of her pleated skirt.

"And like, Scoob and I just found a note in your study, written in the same handwriting," Shaggy said proudly, producing that note as well.

"Rou're randwriting!" Scooby accused, glaring at Jacobson.

Aiken took the notes from them and showed them to Jacobson. The men looked at each other and sighed.

"Kids, I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding," Mr. Aiken told them. "Lewis Jacobson didn't write me these notes…my wife did."

Velma, Shaggy and Scooby stared at him for a few moments.

"...Pardon?" Velma asked. Mr. Aiken sighed.

"My wife and I were going through a rough time," Mr. Aiken told them. "I'd done something terrible, something I should have never done. I cheated on her. I thought for sure she would file for divorce if she found out. But as you can see, she wrote 'this changes nothing 'and that 'we can fix this.' That's what we've been trying to do."

"But…what's this bit about 'the greens?'" asked Velma.

"Our lawyers," Mr. Aiken replied. "Bob and Sally Green."

"I'm still confused about something," Velma said. "Why was Lewis Jacobson delivering the notes? And why is he here now?"

"I was the go-between for Mr. Aiken and his wife," Jacobson said. "We became friendly after I asked him if he knew anything about the printing press that's missing from the school basement."

"Like why would a janitor need to know about a printing press?" Shaggy whispered to Scooby. This was all still very suspicious to him.

Lewis Jacobson overheard him and chuckled. "I'm not really a janitor, son. That's just my cover story." He fished through his pockets and retrieved a wallet, which he showed to Shaggy and Velma.

"…F.B.I?" Velma read, looking up at him. "You're an undercover agent?"

"Indeed I am," Lewis Jacobson replied. "I've been trying to learn more about where the counterfeit ring began and my search led me to the high school."

Velma and Shaggy glanced at each other, unsure if they should mention where the printing press was now. It didn't seem that Jacobson knew about its current whereabouts. Before they could decide anything, though, Jacobson looked at them sternly. "I know you kids have been sneaking around too. I saw you and your friends, the blonde and the redhead, in the basement yesterday after school let out. You jumped out the window."

Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma looked down. They had tried so hard to be careful.

"It's time for you all to stop meddling in police business," Jacobson went on. "I want you kids to stay out of it from now on, or I'll be forced to let the sheriff know."

Velma and Shaggy nodded sagely.

"This ruins my whole theory," Velma sighed. "I thought it made perfect sense that a janitor who was on strike would be behind the counterfeits." Jacobson grinned wryly at her.

"It's true that workers who go on strike don't make money because they refuse to work," he told her. "But really the person who suffers the most is the owner of the company." With that, Jacobson tipped his hat and left.

"Like let's get out of here you guys," Shaggy said, having felt like he'd overstayed his welcome at Mr. Aiken's house since he first stepped foot inside. "Like do you still have to go to the bathroom, Scoob?"

"…Ro…" Scooby muttered sheepishly, glancing at a puddle behind the desk. His fear must have gotten the better of him when Aiken and Jacobson entered the house. Scooby looked at Mr. Aiken apologetically. "Rye'm rorry."

Shaggy grimaced in embarrassment.

"Like I'll clean up after him sir, and then I'll leave."

"So will I," Velma added.

"Thank you," Mr. Aiken told them and went upstairs.

"After we clean up," Velma told him, "we need to go back to Brandon Michael's house. Fred told me he was going to grab Daphne and come meet us here but they haven't shown up yet. I'm getting worried."


	13. Oh What A Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Warnings: language and drunk Fraphne make-out session with over-the-clothes boob-gropage. Read at your own risk, and remember that drunkenness does not equal consent. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 13: Oh What A Night**

As they cleaned up Scooby's mess, Velma filled Shaggy in on what went down at the party next door.

"Like I'm still getting over the fact that YOU drank so much," Shaggy admitted.

"I'm still trying to get over it too," Velma admitted. "It was so out of character for me."

"Like…how did you like it?" Shaggy asked cautiously. He didn't remember much about his first time getting drunk other than spending the evening crouched over the toilet in his friend's bathroom and waking up the next morning with a terrible hangover. It was not a pleasant experience, but all his friends told him what a riot he was when he was drunk so he occasionally partied with them.

"It was okay," Velma admitted. "Definitely not something I see myself doing again in the very near future though."

"Like good plan," Shaggy said. "Like what about Fred and Daphne?"

"Well the last time I saw Daph was before I started drinking," Velma said. "She was pulled into another room by a girl she called Ashley, and Fred and I played Kings with Tony Moretti and a couple others." Shaggy tried to not let his face visibly show how annoyed he was at the mention of Velma's ex-boyfriend.

"Reed relp?" Scooby interrupted, walking into the study.

"Like no, buddy," Shaggy told him. "We're like, finished."

"Let's head back to Brandon's," Velma spoke up. "I want to get Fred and Daphne out of there."

x.X.x

By the time they reached the party, there were still plenty of people there but they couldn't find Fred or Daphne anywhere in the crowd.

"Dinks!"

Shaggy, Scooby and Velma turned towards the voice to find Tony Moretti striding towards them. He was trailed by an older looking version of himself.

"You all right?" Tony said to Velma. "I noticed you'd gone missing and I didn't know where you went."

Shaggy bristled, but did nothing.

"Oh I'm fine," Velma said. "Have you seen Fred or Daphne around?"

Tony shook his head. "Last time I saw them, they were going upstairs to get Daphne's purse out of the coatroom upstairs." Suddenly, as if remembering, he turned around to the guy who was with him.

"Guys this is my older brother Joey," he said. "Joe, these are my friends Velma Dinkley and Shaggy…ahh what's your last name, man?"

"Like, Rogers," Shaggy said, un-gritting his teeth and trying to sound normal.

"Right," Tony said. "And this is his dog, Scooby."

"Reasure ro reet roo!" Scooby barked genially. Joey nodded. It was obvious that he didn't want to be here at the moment.

"Do you guys need a ride home?" Tony asked.

"Oh, no thanks," Velma said. "Shaggy was our designated driver of the evening. Besides, we have to find Daphne and Freddie."

"Right," Tony said nodding. "Well, good luck. See ya in school on Monday." With that, he grinned, waved, and walked out the door with his brother in tow.

Velma was about to suggest searching for their friends when an aggravated growl came from the top of the stairs. She, Shaggy and Scooby glanced up to see Maureen Fischer, Rachael Amora and Phoebe Albion come down the stairs. Maureen looked like she would start crying any minute.

"That BITCH Blake thinks she can have all the guys," she was complaining to her friends, her voice slurred with alcohol. "She's just a whore who wants to get her cheap thrills off Fred Jones, and I'm going to make sure the whole school knows!"

Phoebe noticed Velma, Shaggy and Scooby and pointed them out to Maureen. Her eyes, rimmed with red, became slits.

"Slut-face Blake is up in the coatroom with Fred's man-hands all over her," she spat bitterly. Phoebe and Rachael shot dirty glances at them and rushed Maureen out of the house.

Shaggy and Scooby glanced at each other worriedly. Velma's eyes were wide behind her glasses.

"Let's go," she said. "Now."

x.X.x

_Flashback…_

Fred put his arms around Daphne's trim figure as she pressed her lips deeper into his. She tasted slightly of alcohol, but mostly she tasted sweet and warm. Fred was still feeling slightly intoxicated himself, and kissing Daphne was not helping his mental faculties, so when he tried to stagger over to the bed with Daphne attached to his face, it was less graceful than he'd hoped. Daphne laid face-up on the bed and Fred crawled over her. She brought her lips to him again, this time opening her mouth against his and letting her sweet tongue travel inside. Fred nearly went out of his mind with passion as their tongues fought for dominance.

Daphne's slender, manicured fingers entwined themselves in his blonde hair and she couldn't help but notice, in her drunken stupor, how very fine his hair was. It was almost as fine as hers. She let one hand trail through his hair as the other untied his ascot.

Fred's hands, for the most part, were holding him up from crushing Daphne. However, as his mouth left hers to leave trails of kisses and gentle nips down her neck, he used one hand to hold himself up and the other to caress her hair.

"Mmmm…" she mumbled blissfully, sending Fred into an even more passionate stupor. His mouth leached on to her neck, sucking and biting. This caused an even bigger reaction from Daphne, and she moaned and arched her back in pleasure. His hand abandoned her hair and moved to her chest, grabbing a gentle hold of one supple breast. In the back of his mind, something told him to stop. It was over the clothes, but he still felt as though it was all too fast.

Daphne, however, appeared to have no objections. "Oh, Freddie…" she sighed.

He took that as a cue to keep going. He continued to massage the breast over the clothes. Daphne continued sighing with pleasure, egging him on.

Suddenly the door flung open and Fred detached his mouth from Daphne's neck. Maureen Fischer and her minions were standing in the threshold, mouths agape. Fred suddenly remembered why. His hand was still fondling Daphne's breast. He quickly jerked it away.

"Don't bother." Rachael was the first to speak. Phoebe was warily gathering their coats and Maureen seemed physically incapable of talking. "We all saw you. The whole school will know about this by Monday."

"…Know what?" asked Fred. These girls weren't really going to tell the whole school that he'd been feeling up Daphne, were they?

"How much of a whore-slut Daphne Blake is," Maureen spat, speaking for the first time. With that, she took Rachael by the hand and the three of them left the room. Fred almost went after them, but realized it would be in vain. He glanced down at Daphne. She had fallen asleep.

Fred tried to wake her up. "Daph. Daph."

"Hmm…" she mumbled sleepily.

"Daph, you can't fall asleep, I have to get you home," Fred said. At that moment the door flew open again and Shaggy, Scooby and Velma stood in the threshold. Fred could only imagine what they saw. Him, with his hair all messed and his ascot undone, hovering over Daphne, who was passed out under him on the bed.

"This is not what it looks like!" he defended himself, even though it totally was.

"Man like, what happened?" Shaggy asked. Velma and Scooby rushed over to Daphne to try to revive her. "Maureen and her friends came stomping down the stairs talking about like, you and Daphne doing…stuff." He glanced at the sleeping girl on the bed. "I like, didn't think you'd take advantage of her like that."

"I didn't!" Fred protested. "She seduced me! She was drunker than I was!"

"That's not exactly helping your case," Velma told him as Daphne finally stirred awake. "Come on. We better get you guys home."

x.X.x

Shaggy, who was the only one who had not had a drop to drink all evening, drove everyone back to Willow Springs. It was decided that Fred would stay at his house in the guest bed. Velma told everyone that her sister Madelyn was at a sleepover with her friends, so Daphne could stay with her. On the way, Velma explained to Fred what had happened at Mr. Aiken's house. Scooby gave Daphne water and tried to keep her awake long enough to get her to Velma's.

"That doesn't make any sense," Fred said, furrowing his brow. "If the counterfeiting Wendigo isn't Mr. Aiken and Lewis Jacobson, who is it?"

"I don't know," Velma sighed. "They were our only suspects."

"Maybe like…" Shaggy spoke up. "The Wendigo's real."

"That seems highly unlikely. What would a monster need to make counterfeit money for?" Fred said.

"He's right," Velma added. "I still think the Wendigo's fake and that the counterfeit money and the janitor's strike are connected."

"Maybe we could talk to people who worked for Mr. Reynold's company?" Fred suggested. "They might be able to point us in the right direction."

"It's worth a shot," Velma said. "We'll go tomorrow."

x.X.x

The next morning, Daphne woke up in a strange place. She was in a bed, but the window was on the wrong side of it. This wasn't her bed. She jerked up and immediately regretted it. Stabbing pain rushed through her head and she moaned in agony.

"Uggghhh…where am I?" she mumbled. She noticed another bed across the room. The figure in the bed stirred and awoke, and Daphne saw that it was Velma.

"Oh, you're awake," Velma said, reaching for her glasses on her nightstand. "How are you feeling?"

"Hung-over," Daphne said, rubbing her forehead. "What happened last night?"

Velma sighed, obviously not wanting to tell Daphne about what had happened.

"Well, we went to the party at Brandon's," she said.

"Yes, I remember that. Ashley dragged me in to play beer pong."

"Um…what else do you remember?"

Daphne closed her eyes, trying to think. "Um…Fred came in to try to get me to go next door to look for you and Shaggy and Scooby…and then I went to get my purse…and-" Daphne suddenly remembered something else and glanced at Velma, eyes wide with horror.

"Oh no," she whimpered. "Did Freddie and I…?"

Velma didn't answer, waiting for Daphne to finish her question.

Daphne spoke in a whisper. "…have sex?"

Velma blanched. "What? No, of course not."

Daphne breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God."

"But…you did make out with him. And you have a hickey."

Daphne quickly but carefully made her way to the mirror over the dresser and inspected her neck. It all came rushing back to her. "Oh noooooo…"

"Yeah," Velma said sympathetically.

"Who knows about it?" Daphne asked, dreading the answer.

"Well…" Velma began. "I do. And you do. Shaggy, Scooby and Fred." She paused. "And Maureen and her friends." This elicited another groan from Daphne.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said.

"I'm sorry. I wish I was," Velma told her. She paused before her next statement. "I have more bad news."

"Oh great. What else happened? Please tell me someone caught you hooking up with Shaggy or something cuz that would make me feel so much better."

Velma's face turned from white to pink at the thought of being in that kind of situation with Shaggy. "Um, no. Mr. Aiken and Lewis Jacobson aren't behind the Wendigo or the counterfeits."

"What?" Daphne asked. Velma briefly explained what had happened at Mr. Aiken's home the previous evening. When she finished, Daphne groaned yet again.

"Great. So now we're no closer to solving the mystery than we were two days ago. What are we going to do?"

"Well we had the idea that we might go to Mr. Reynold's old company and see if we could pick up any leads there," Velma told her. "We're going this afternoon."

"Okay," Daphne said. "Um…will Fred be there?"

Velma was dumbfounded. "…Yes, Fred will be there." Velma suddenly realized why Daphne was asking. "You don't want to be alone with him?"

"It's just too awkward!" Daphne wailed, falling back on the bed with a whump. "I don't know how I'll be able to face ANYONE at school after this, let alone Fred! Besides, he has a crush on me, and now he's going to think I'm into him too, and he's going to want to 'talk about our relationship' and…this just sucks!"

"Wait, hold on," Velma said, holding up her hands. "You're _not_ into Fred?"

Daphne sat back up and pondered.

"…I don't know," she stammered. "But I do know that I'm not ready to talk about it with him. Not yet."

"No problem," Velma promised. "I can help you out there."

"Thanks Velma!" Daphne launched herself from the bed and threw her arms around the other girl. "You're the best!"

"Oomph," Velma said, under the pressure of the hug. Daphne took the hint and let go.

x.X.x

Fred, Shaggy and Scooby swung by in Shaggy's van to pick up the girls so they could head over to Mr. Reynold's old real estate company. The ride was uncomfortably silent. The girls sat in the back while Fred and Scooby sat up front while Shaggy drove. The longer the ride went on, the more Daphne remembered about her drunken night with Fred, and the more embarrassed she felt. Even though the memories were pleasant (Freddie really was an astonishing kisser), Daphne wished it hadn't been tainted by alcohol.

 _Is…is that why I'm embarrassed?_ Daphne wondered. _Because we were drunk and I wish we'd been sober when it happened?_ She shook her head, and tried to turn her mind off.

When they arrived at the building, not a soul was in sight. There weren't even any cars in the parking lot.

"Man. What a creepy place," Fred commented.

"Like yeah," Shaggy replied. Velma and Scooby nodded. Daphne did not reply. Everyone got out of the car and headed over to the abandoned building. Surprisingly, it was unlocked so they ventured inside.

"This place is really spooky," Velma spoke up.

"I guess we won't be finding any help around here," Daphne said.

"Not necessarily," Fred replied. "Why don't we split up and search for clues? Daph and I will go this way, and Velma, Shaggy and Scooby can go that way."

"Um," Velma interrupted, remembering her promise to Daphne. "I think Shag and Scoob will be fine on their own. I'll go with you guys."

Fred and Shaggy looked the teeniest bit disappointed, but Daphne looked very relieved. Scooby looked confused.

"Rut rar ree rupposed ro rook for?" he asked. Fred paused.

"I'm not really sure," he replied. But before he could say anything else, Lewis Jacobson appeared behind them in the open doorway.

"What are you kids doing here?" he asked. "You're technically trespassing." Then he saw Velma and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Didn't I tell you to leave this to the police?" he told her. Velma glanced away meekly. Jacobson turned his attention back to Fred. "It's time for you kids to quit meddling in official business. If I have to ask you again, I WILL tell the sheriff." With that, he ushered them out of the building.

"Well this sucks. Our mission was totally a bust," Velma sighed from the back seat where she sat with Daphne. "What are we going to do now?"

x.X.x

What they did was nothing. On the drive back, Daphne suddenly remembered that she had an oral presentation in her AP history class the next day and she wanted to rehearse it. So Shaggy took her home and dropped Fred back at his house. He and Velma drove back to Willow Springs.

"Like, how awkward do you think things are going to be between them now?" he asked her.

"Who knows?" she sighed. "Fred's been after Daphne all year. She always resisted, but she was starting to let her guard down with him once we teamed up to solve this mystery. But now…" Velma sighed again. "I just hope that the awkwardness won't impact our ability to work together on this case."

"Like, I don't think it will," Shaggy said.

"Reah," Scooby agreed.

But they were both very, very wrong.


	14. Don't Take It Personal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 14: Don't Take It Personal**

"Hey Daphne, what happened to your neck?"

Daphne looked down at the floor as she sped away from the mocking laughs of the girls who had just asked her that question. She'd done everything she could have thought to cover the hickey Fred had given her on Saturday night but the large, purplish-reddish bruise was still detectable. She was so mortified she could die.

She was glad when she ran into Velma.

"Velm! Thank God," she sighed. She looked around. "Where's Shaggy?" Since the two took the same bus, they often walked to homeroom together, but the lanky teenager was nowhere in sight this morning.

"He went to his locker," Velma said. "He said he left his algebra textbook in his locker over the weekend and was planning on doing his homework in homeroom." Daphne allowed herself a wry smile at Shaggy's antics as she and Velma walked to homeroom together.

"How are you holding up?" Velma asked.

"Ugh, are you kidding me?" Daphne groaned. "Between getting to school and going to my locker, six different people have made snide comments about me hooking up with Freddie – er, Fred – at that party." Velma looked at the redhead sympathetically.

"What are they saying?'

"Oh just things like, 'Oh hey, what's that on your neck there?' and stuff like that," Daphne said. "At least we didn't go farther than that. I'm glad I can still remember what happened."

"Right," Velma agreed. But the rumors she'd been hearing on the bus were much worse than the boob-gropage that had actually happened. Velma had wondered and worried about whether or not to tell Daphne about these worse rumors. She'd wanted to ask Shaggy for his advice on what to do but for some reason, felt awkward talking to him about things of sexual nature.

So she'd kept her mouth shut.

The two girls made it to homeroom. Mr. Aiken was sitting at his desk, but several students snickered quietly at Daphne when she entered. Velma had to hand it to her – the girl had class. She held her head high as she walked to her seat and did not acknowledge the gigglers. Shaggy arrived shortly afterwards, math book in hand, nodded to the girls as he walked by them, and settled in his seat to do his homework. He worked diligently as the other kids in their homeroom filtered in and as the morning announcement sounded over the PA system. Once again, Fred's tinny voice reminded the sophomores about class rings and PSATs. Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy each felt as though they could recite it along with him now. Ten or so minutes into homeroom, Fred came walking in. Daphne kept her eyes glued to her desk as he walked past her to sit.

He did not acknowledge her.

Nor did he acknowledge the snickering kids he passed by. He kept his eyes straight ahead. Velma glanced back at Shaggy, but he hadn't noticed what was going on. He was still working on his algebra. Velma sighed and turned back around.

x.X.x

All morning long, Daphne was tormented by her fellow classmates regarding her escapade with Fred. First period chemistry was awful. Her lab partner, Ellie, was the only one who disregarded the rumors that flew around the room. Daphne was mortified. She wasn't even able to find sanctuary in second period algebra because of the fact that Shaggy sat on the other side of the room (though he continually shot her kind glances from across the way), and she was worried about the following period, French class, where she would be forced to sit next to Fred.

Daphne seriously considered skipping French. But what would that say about her? That she would let something silly like a rumor get to her? Besides, they weren't _that_ bad. Just annoying.

Until, that is, she was on her way to French. Daphne passed a trio of girls in the hallway who were loitering near some lockers, not paying much attention to their conversation at first. The girls didn't appear to notice her either, because they did not drop their voices.

"So they open the door," Daphne heard one of the girls say, "and Fred Jones is on top of her – _naked_."

Daphne stopped short as the other girls gasped.

"No way!"

"Shut up!"

"I swear on my grandmother's grave," the first girl said. "I heard it straight from Maureen Fischer."

"What else did you hear?"

"Nothing, just that when they came into the room, Daphne and Fred both looked up really embarrassed."

"Well it serves her right," one of the other girls muttered. "Having sex in Brandon's guest room. Can you think of anything more skanky?"

"I always thought Daphne had much more class than that," said the third girl. "I never thought she'd do something like that."

Daphne was mortified. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Had Maureen truly been spreading around these heinous rumors? Did people honestly think that she, Daphne, had had sex with Fred at that stupid party? (Admittedly, Daphne herself had worried about that before she remembered what had really happened that night, but she knew she wouldn't do that, no matter how drunk she was or how much she liked Fred). How many other people had heard these rumors? Knowing Maureen, probably the whole school did at this point. But Daphne was strong. She wasn't going to let it get to her. She turned around and cleared her throat. The three girls looked up. They turned scarlet as Daphne glared at them. There was nothing more for her to do now but turn on her heel and head to French class.

Fred was already sitting at his desk when Daphne walked in. He glanced up at her, blushed, then quickly began studying the top of his desk. Daphne's stomach twisted painfully in fear as she noticed a definite drop in volume as her classmates hushed their conversation when they noticed her standing in the threshold of the classroom doorway. But she held her head high and sat beside Fred with as much dignity as she could muster.

She and Fred did not speak to each other until halfway through the period.

"I'm sorry," Fred whispered to her as they worked on conjugating verbs.

"For what?" Daphne muttered back airily, though she knew perfectly well what.

"For…you know. All these rumors about what happened to us at the party," Fred replied.

"Did you start the rumors?" Daphne asked.

Fred looked taken aback. "N-no, of course not."

"Then you have nothing to apologize for," Daphne told him, turning back to her work. Inside, however, she was seething. She had no idea why she was being so cordial to Fred when in reality she was furious with him. Or rather, she wasn't furious with _him,_ but rather with the rumors about them that were floating around. She was embarrassed around him, but her humiliation had manifested into a cold fury towards Fred. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she wanted to seem composed and nonchalant in front of her classmates. She was totally aware that nearly every eye was on the pair of them.

"Well I should apologize for that night," Fred said. "I took advantage of you, and I shouldn't have done that."

"No, you shouldn't have," Daphne replied shortly. She didn't want to have this conversation in the middle of French class.

"But to be completely fair, you probably shouldn't have had that much to drink," Fred murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

"Ex _cuse_ me?" Daphne whispered, fury slipping into her tone. "You actually have the audacity to blame _me_ for what happened that night?"

"I'm not _blaming_ you," Fred said hastily. "I'm just saying that maybe both of us were responsible."

"Fred Jones, you are unbelievable," Daphne hissed. She was so angry and humiliated that she could barely see straight. "It was your idea to go to that stupid party in the first place, so it's your fault that all these rumors are flying around and that I have this stupid thing on my neck!" She jabbed at the bruise on her throat.

"Hate to break it to you, Daph," Fred snapped, for he was becoming angry too, "but you kissed me first!"

He had said that way too loudly. Daphne felt every head in the classroom whirl around to glance at them as a crimson blush rose to her cheeks. Madame Van de Kamp glared at them from the front of the room.

Thankfully, the bell rung immediately after that happened. Without a word or a glimpse at anyone, Daphne gathered her things and bolted from the room. Forget about dignity. She was getting the heck out of there.

x.X.x

School the rest of that day was awful for all four of them after that. Velma and Shaggy had also been hearing all the ridiculous rumors around school and though they tried to quell them, they didn't have much luck convincing their fellow classmates. The only one who seemed to believe them was Tony Moretti, but he never got caught up in gossip so that didn't matter much.

And then there were Fred and Daphne themselves. They had told Shaggy and Velma respectively what had happened in French class and though they were sympathetic, nothing that Shaggy or Velma said made neither Fred nor Daphne reconsider their anger.

"I will never forgive Fred as long as I live," Daphne proclaimed to Velma at one point during gym class. Velma recognized it as a hopeless cause and didn't bring it up again. They did not sit together during lunch.

"What are we going to do?" Velma asked Shaggy on the bus home that afternoon. "I mean, there's no way we can continue trying to solve this mystery if the two of them are too mad to speak to each other."

"Like yeah," Shaggy sighed. "I have no clue. Maybe like, it'll blow over." Wishful thinking, he knew. Fred and Daphne were both insanely stubborn and neither would forgive the other first. "Well at least there's like, not really anything at stake for us if the mystery doesn't get solved. It's not like it's like, personal or something."

But later that evening, he discovered that how wrong he was.

After dinner, he and Scooby were watching TV when his cellphone rang. His heart jumped when he saw Velma's name on the caller ID.

"Like hello?" he answered. He hoped that Velma was calling with good news regarding Daphne and Fred.

"You have to come over right now," Velma told him urgently. Her voice sounded very panicky, which worried Shaggy. Velma didn't seem like someone who panicked.

"Uh…Velm? Like, you all right?"

"No I'm not, please just come over right away," Velma pleaded. Shaggy didn't need to be told twice. He took Scooby and bolted to the front door, called to his mother to let her know they were going out, and sprinted to Velma's house. She was waiting at the door when he got there, looking anxious. To his surprise, Fred and Daphne were sitting in the living room.

"Rye rought roo red ray rere righting," Scooby murmured to Shaggy.

"Like, they are fighting," Shaggy muttered back. Indeed, though Fred and Daphne were in the same room, neither was looking at the other. Also sitting in the living room were three girls that looked as though they might be in middle school.

"Roo rar ray?" Scooby asked.

"These are Madelyn's friends, Jane, Kerri and Lana," Velma said. She still looked hopelessly worried.

"Why are they here?" asked Daphne, still refusing to look at Fred.

Jane, Kerri and Lana glanced at each other before Kerri said, "We haven't seen Madelyn since after school."

Shaggy and Scooby exchanged glances.

"Like, I'm sure she'll turn up," Shaggy said, mostly for Velma's benefit.

But she shook her head. "No, she's always home for dinner."

"Did Madelyn tell any of you where she was going?" Fred asked the younger girls gently.

"Don't you think Velma already asked them that?" Daphne asked sharply.

"As a matter of fact, I did," Velma said hastily, not wanting Daphne and Fred to have another spat right in her living room. "That's why I called you guys over."

"Madelyn said she was going to go find a Windy-something," Jane told them. Daphne furrowed her brow.

"A Windy-something? That doesn't make any sense. Unless…" She uttered a small gasp as Fred, Shaggy and Scooby realized what "Windy-something" meant.

"What? What is it?" demanded Lana.

"Madelyn went looking for the Wendigo," Velma muttered in a barely audible voice.


	15. The Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Warning: language. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 15: The Monster**

"Wait a minute," Fred said, standing up, though still pointedly not looking at Daphne. "How did Madelyn even find out about the Wendigo?"

"She must have like, overheard us talking about it on Friday when we were here," Shaggy replied.

"We have to find her," Velma said. Scooby glanced at her.

"Ro way!" he exclaimed, obviously petrified. "Rut rit's rark routside!"

"What's a Wendigo?" asked Jane. She and the other girls wore confused expressions.

"Um…" Velma's face twisted in concentration. Shaggy knew she was trying to think of a way to deter these girls from asking any more questions. "Listen, we need you to do something for us."

"What?" asked Lana warily.

"Call the sheriff's office and ask for Agent Jacobson," Velma told them. "Tell them that the uh…meddling kids need his help in the Willow Springs woods."

"What?" Daphne exclaimed. "We're going in there at this time of night without backup?"

"We have to," Velma said gravely. "She's my sister. What if she gets hurt?"

"But like…" Shaggy began. "It's nighttime!"

Velma turned and glared at him. "I. Don't. Care." Her gaze was so fierce that Shaggy backed down immediately. "She is my sister and I _have_ to try to save her."

"Of course we'll rescue her, Velma," Daphne soothed. "But we should prepare."

"Should we get some more silver bullets?" Fred asked. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"…Oh my gosh do you have a gun?" Kerri whispered.

Fred's face blanched. "No, of course not!"

Velma shooed Madelyn's friends out of the room. "Call the sheriff and then call your parents to come get you."

"I can't believe he has a _gun_ ," Lana muttered as she and the other girls left to find a phone.

"Nice, Fred," Daphne said under her breath.

"I was just trying to help!"

"Yeah that's what you said on Saturday night, and look what happened!"

"What's that supposed to mean? I WAS trying to help you get your purse. It's not my fault you came onto me!"

"AND YOU TWO." Velma wheeled around and pointed at Fred and Daphne, fury shaking her small body. Shaggy and Scooby automatically stepped back. "I'm tired of this! It's been a hard day for all of us with the rumors, and you fighting, and now my sister is missing! I am not going to have your argument jeopardize her safety so let's just get it all out in the open." She faced Fred. "Freddie, it was really shitty that you kissed and felt up Daphne when she was drunk. She was not totally in control of her faculties, and you should not have taken advantage of her." Velma now turned to the redhead. "And Daphne, I know you were drunk, but it's not Fred's fault that Maureen and her evil minions started those horrible rumors. But the rumors themselves, while they're terrible, aren't even the real reason you're mad, are they? No, you're mad because you secretly DO like Fred, and you're mad at yourself that you were drunk the first time you kissed him!" Velma took a deep breath at the end of her tirade, while Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby stared at her open-mouthed. A faint pink blush colored Daphne's cheeks, and Fred shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking anywhere but at Daphne.

"I cannot have you two fighting while we're trying to rescue my sister," Velma continued in a slightly calmer manner from before. "So you both have GOT to make up, right now. There is no other option. I can't send you home – we all need to be a united front in this. If I was going to let anyone go home, it would be Scooby and Shaggy."

"Rey!" Scooby cried, indignant. "Rut's rat rupposed to rean?"

"Like yeah," Shaggy added. "Like I know we're scaredy cats, but we care about this. We like, wanna help."

"See!" Velma turned back towards the still-silent Fred and Daphne while gesturing towards Scooby and Shaggy. "If they can muster up the courage to go into the haunted woods in the dead of night to fight a mythical monster, then you guys can get over this stupid fight long enough to help too!"

Shaggy and Scooby gulped and made eye contact, fear flooding their faces. To hear Velma put it that way made the terror rush right back into their hearts.

"Raybe riff re rad Rooby Racks…?" Scooby said meekly. Velma stared at the dog for a moment before reaching into her pocket and tossing a small baggie of Scooby Snacks into Shaggy's waiting palms.

"Go crazy," she told them. Back to Daphne and Fred, she said, "Right now, I want to hear you both apologize to each other."

Fred and Daphne hesitantly turned to face the other, heat returning to their faces. They were silent for a moment before Fred took a deep breath.

"I'm really sorry, Daphne," he said, still not looking her directly in the eye. "It was wrong of me to respond the way I did when you…" He trailed off, not wanting to say anything that would upset her. "I shouldn't have let it go as far as I did. I should have listened to my conscience instead of my…" Again, he stopped talking, and searched for words. Another deep breath. He looked her in the eyes now. "What I did was problematic. I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too, Fred," Daphne murmured, glancing away. "Even if I was drunk, I shouldn't have started it in the first place. It was wrong of me to put us in that position. And I'm sorry I got mad at you about the rumors – I know they weren't your fault. I just…" Now she stopped talking and turned redder. "My anger was misplaced. I'm sorry about that." There was a long, thick silence.

"Great," Velma said to break the tension. "Now that everyone's apologized, let's catch a Wendigo."

"Like wait a minute," Shaggy spoke up. "I thought you said we were like, just going to find your sister."

"We're going to need to find the Wendigo to do that," Velma reminded him. "And we've got to take all the necessary precautions first."

"So what do we do?" asked Daphne.

Fred looked at the group. "Actually, I think I have a plan…"

x.X.x

Fifteen minutes later, armed with flashlights, ropes, and other items from Velma's garage, the gang bundled up against the cold and made their way into the trees. The remnants of Thursday's snowstorm lingered on the ground, casting bewitching shadows from the moonlight. In no time at all, they found themselves in the clearing with the oak tree lair.

"No sign of the Wendigo yet," Daphne whispered.

"Or Madelyn," Velma fretted.

"Shaggy, Scooby, check the oak tree," Fred said. Shaggy and Scooby looked at him incredulously.

"Like, are you out of your mind, man?" Shaggy hissed.

"Reah!" Scooby added.

"We need to make sure that the lair is empty before we start setting up the trap," Fred reminded him. Shaggy and Scooby quivered with cold and fear.

Velma sighed and reached into her backpack. "Scooby Snack?"

Shaggy and Scooby glanced at each other, then glowered at Velma as they begrudgingly took a snack each.

"Like come on Scoob," Shaggy grumbled. "Let's go."

The two opened the secret door and on shaky legs, descended the staircase to the two tunnels. The torch still burned between them. The biggest noticeable difference was that the floor was now covered in straw. Beside the staircase, near the mouth of the right tunnel, stood a large vat. Shaggy peered inside.

"Like what in the world…" he murmured.

"Rut ris it, Raggy?" Scooby asked, approaching the vat.

"Like…it's all tofu," Shaggy replied. Scooby stood on his hind legs and saw the soft, white bricks floating inside. "That's so weird." He turned to face his dog. "Like why would someone ever want this much raw tofu?"

"Rye don't row, Raggy," Scooby said, glancing nervously around.

Shaggy shook it off. "Like, sorry. I got sidetracked. Let's like, make sure it's all clear down here."

Scooby shined his flashlight down the left tunnel, which led to the school, while Shaggy flashed his into the right tunnel and the printing room. He could see the shadow of the printing press at the end of the hall, but something seemed off.

"Rothing reer," Scooby called softly.

"Like Scoob, check it out," Shaggy replied. He finally figured out what was wrong with the room and he and Scooby headed down the hall to inspect it more closely.

"…Rhe roney's rone!" Scooby cried. Indeed, the money was gone. The stacks of counterfeit twenties were nowhere in sight. There was just one lone, small bundle on the desk next to the printing press.

"Someone like, must have been here," Shaggy realized. "And they might be like, coming back to collect this too." He looked at Scooby. "We gotta go tell the others. Like, now."

Scooby grabbed the counterfeit money and followed Shaggy as he sprinted down the tunnel, back up the staircase, and out into the forest.

In the clearing, Fred, Daphne, and Velma had already set up a complicated pulley-system in the trees nearest the oak. Fred had described the trap in detail back at Velma's place, but Shaggy was still amazed to see it come to fruition. Fred was going to get into AP Physics for sure next year. _Like if we live that long,_ Shaggy couldn't help thinking.

Fred shimmied down the tree when he noticed them. "Any sign of the Wendigo or Madelyn?"

"Like, nope." Shaggy paused. "But we think someone must have been down there like, recently."

"Why do you say that?" asked Velma, coming over to join them.

"Like, all the money is gone."

"What?!" Fred and Velma cried in unison.

"Rall rut ris rundle," Scooby confirmed, showing them the fake money and twitching his tail nervously.

"Like I think maybe the Wendigo might be coming back for it," Shaggy told them. Fred and Velma glanced at each other.

"Anything else suspicious?" asked Fred.

"Like, nada, man," Shaggy replied. "Other than a vat of like, more tofu than one person could be expected to eat."

"This coming from the man with the iron stomach?" Velma was feeling a little hysterical from worry and fear, but she somehow found she was still able to joke with her friend. Despite himself, Shaggy grinned back.

"Okay, I'm all set up over here," Daphne called from another tree, trying unsuccessfully to shimmy down as gracefully as Fred had. He saw her struggle, and caught her easily when she fell. The two looked at each other for several moments, their faces tinged pink from either cold or embarrassment. No one was sure.

Scooby cleared his throat conspicuously, and Fred promptly placed Daphne gently on the ground.

"Now what?" she asked, looking away from Fred again.

"Now we wait," Velma replied. "We know the Wendigo won't leave his lair unguarded for long, especially if Shaggy is right and it'll be coming back for this last stack of bills. Madelyn is bound to turn up too."

"Like, how long do you think we'll have to wait?" Shaggy asked, fearing the answer. Daphne took out her phone and checked the time.

"It's after 9 o'clock," she informed them all.

"Hopefully it won't be too long," Fred said, and shivered. The cold was beginning to get to him too.

"Like…should we all huddle together for warmth?" Shaggy said, half-jokingly. They all glanced at each other for a half second before a blood-curdling scream ripped through the quiet night.

"That's Madelyn!" Velma exclaimed, taking off towards the sound. Fred caught her arm.

"Wait, Velma!" he cried. "You can't go after her alone."

Before Velma had time to reply, Madelyn burst through the trees, terror on her face.

"Madds!" Velma pulled her sister to her in a fierce hug. "What do you think you're doing?"

"He's after me!" Madelyn shouted, ignoring Velma's question. "You all have to get out of here, now!"

"Like, great idea!" Shaggy proclaimed.

"Reah!" Scooby echoed.

"Guys, relax," Fred chided them. "We have a plan." To Madelyn, he said, "You better stay with your sister." Madelyn clung to Velma's arm in fright.

"Okay, places everyone," Fred called to the gang, and they dispersed. Shaggy and Scooby positioned themselves at the mouth of the oak tree lair, Fred and Daphne stood under their respective trees, and Velma and Madelyn stood off to the side of the clearing near a bush. Velma picked up a rope that was hiding behind the bush, attached to a spring and a soccer ball.

"What's going on?" Madelyn asked Velma.

"You'll see," Velma told her. "Just help me pull this rope when I say so."

Moments later, the Wendigo burst through the trees from the direction Madelyn had arrived. It stopped short at the sight of Shaggy and Scooby at the door of its lair.

"Roo-hoo! Rister Rendigo!" Scooby called, waving his paws in the air over his head.

"Like look at me! I'm a distraction!" Shaggy shouted wildly.

The Wendigo growled a terrible, guttural sound, and started to lunge towards the two.

"VELMA, NOW!"

Fred's voice sounded from the far side of the clearing. Velma looked at her sister, and they pulled their rope together, releasing the spring. The soccer ball rocketed out from under the bush, landing directly under the stomping feet of the beast. He slipped and fell backwards, just at the moment Fred's second command rang out. Daphne pulled her rope, and a bucket fell from somewhere up the trees, landing upside-down directly on the monster's head. The Wendigo roared in fury, trying to remove the bucket, but it was stuck fast by the handle under its chin.

Fred pulled his rope – and nothing happened. He pulled it again, his face twisting in fright. His rope was supposed to drop a net from the trees and trap the Wendigo. But the net was stuck high in the branches.

The Wendigo snarled, finally just standing up and hurtling itself in the direction it had been headed – directly towards Shaggy and Scooby.

Shaggy jumped out of the way in fear, catching his leg on the root that opened the door, and tumbled to the ground. He looked behind him to see his dog frozen in fear.

"Like, Scooby Doo!" he shouted. "Run! Like don't let it touch you!"

But Scooby couldn't move – he could only stand there and watch the blinded beast as it barreled toward him.

And now that the door was opened, when the Wendigo made contact, both monster and dog tumbled through the opening and down the stairs to the lair together.

The humans stared after them in shock and horror. They shouted in one voice as they watched the pair disappear from view.

"SCOOBY!"

x.X.x

Scooby and the Wendigo thumped to the bottom of the stairs. Scooby took stock of the situation while the Wendigo struggled to remove the bucket from its head. He was shocked as to how much he felt like himself. When they did all that research (decades ago, it seemed), hadn't Daphne read them something about how touching the monster was sure to bring out Wendigo Fever? The first symptom was a disturbing odor, but Scooby could smell nothing but the straw on the floor, the dirt walls, and the tofu from the vat.

The Wendigo finally shifted the bucket enough to see out from under the rim, and lunged to swipe at Scooby again. Scooby bounded out of the way, and the Wendigo grabbed the burning torch and threw it on the ground.

The straw immediately caught fire.

Scooby was now trying to dodge both beast and blaze. In a panic, he dove behind the vat of tofu and pushed it into the monster. The tofu spilled out and the Wendigo tripped forward over the vat, tumbling down the tunnel until it knocked head-first (or, rather, bucket-first) into the printing press.

Scooby looked up from behind the vat and saw his human friends standing at the top of the staircase, their flashlights shining down to him.

"Scooby Doo!" Shaggy was the first to descend the staircase and reunite with his friend. "Like are you okay?"

"Rire!" Scooby barked.

"Fire?" Shaggy's brow furrowed. "Like what are you talking about?"

Scooby turned around. Indeed, the flames had petered out.

The rest of the gang followed Shaggy down the stairs. Velma knelt on the ground and discovered the remnants of the blaze.

"It looks like the fire wasn't able to get past this tofu," she said. "It makes sense. Tofu is mostly made of water."

"Rhe Rendigo rarted the rire," Scooby explained.

Daphne furrowed her brow. "Why would the Wendigo want to set fire to its own hideout?"

"A better question," said a booming voice behind them. "What are _you_ meddling kids doing here?"

Everyone whirled around to see Lewis Jacobson descending the stairs, accompanied by Sheriff Bronson Stone. It was the first time Shaggy had met the sheriff. He would have preferred better circumstances for a first meeting.

"Fred Jones," said the sheriff, upon seeing the blond boy. "Your father isn't going to be happy about this."

"He will when he hears what we've discovered!" Fred cried. "Come with me, everyone."

Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, Scooby, Madelyn, Agent Jacobson, and the sheriff all followed Fred down the tunnel to the right. Fred shone his flashlight along the wall until he found the light switch. He flicked it, and the room flooded with light, illuminating the printing press and the groggy Wendigo. Scooby, who somehow had not let go of the counterfeit money all this time, placed the bundle back on the desk where he had found it.

Agent Jacobson and Sheriff Stone looked aghast. Madelyn looked awed. The gang looked triumphant.

"Holy…" Sheriff Stone began, but trailed off.

"What is this place?" Agent Jacobson asked the sheriff.

Velma was the one who answered. "According to my research, this tunnel was used in the Underground Railroad, for harboring fugitive slaves looking for a new life in the north. And we believe the 'Wendigo'," – she made quotation marks in the air with her fingers – "discovered it and decided to use it as the headquarters for the counterfeit operation."

The sheriff and the agent looked dubious, so Jacobson turned to Madelyn.

"I don't understand what _you're_ doing here, little lady," Agent Jacobson said. "These kids have been in my hair since day one, but I've never seen you before."

"I heard them talking about the Wendigo," she admitted. "I…I wanted to find it myself. To prove to some mean girls at school that I was good at something." She looked at Velma with large eyes, unblinking behind her glasses. "I'm so sorry, Velma. I didn't realize that the Wendigo was the same monster that chased us in the woods that one time. I feel so stupid."

"I'm just glad you're safe," Velma told her.

"Will you tell Mom and Dad?" Madelyn whispered.

Velma looked up at the other adults. "Do you have to tell our parents?"

"Well," said Sheriff Stone. "You kids have been meddling with police and FBI business. That's not good."

"Will we get in trouble?" asked Daphne.

"Quite possibly."

"What if we're right about who we think the Wendigo is?" Velma asked. "Will we get in trouble then?"

The sheriff and Agent Jacobson looked at each other. "Who do you think it is?" asked Agent Jacobson.

Suddenly, everyone looked over at the Wendigo. It made a groggy, groaning noise that sounded very human.

"We think it's a person," Fred told them. "A man in a mask."

He approached the beast and carefully pried the bucket off its head. The Wendigo made no move to stop him. Fred reached towards the monster's chin, and pulled up swiftly…


	16. The Stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Revised August 2019. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera.

**Chapter 16: The Stranger**

"…Mrs. Amber Reynolds?!"

The gang's shocked voices rose together in a cacophony of confusion. Well, not quite everyone sounded confused. Velma looked unsurprised.

The woman that the gang had met just last Thursday glared at them murderously.

"The real estate agent's wife?" Sheriff Stone peered at her suspiciously. "You've been behind the counterfeiting?"

"Not just her," Velma announced. "She had an accomplice." At the top of the suit, under Mrs. Reynold's chin, Shaggy noticed a small silver zipper. Velma grabbed it and pulled it down. She was right. There was a second person in the suit. Mrs. Reynolds was sitting on the shoulders of a resigned-looking man. Shaggy studied the stranger's face, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar.

Daphne got there first.

"Oh my gosh," she breathed. "It's Paul Reynolds."

It all came back to Shaggy. That day in the library, when Velma had used the microfiche. The article she'd showed them about Paul Reynolds' disappearance had run with a photo.

This stranger, this man they'd believed dead or at least lost to insanity for months, had been the mastermind behind the entire mystery.

Scooby asked the question that was on everyone's minds. "Rhy?"

Reynolds sighed. "My real estate business was going bankrupt. People just aren't buying homes in this area anymore. The market is insane here, so people are looking elsewhere to buy their homes."

"That's why Dottie and Bill are moving to Seattle," Madelyn breathed. Velma nodded.

"It got to the point where I wasn't even able to pay my cleaning staff," Reynolds explained. His wife had climbed out of the suit by this point and was sitting next to her husband, still scowling.

"Which is why all the janitors went on strike," Fred realized.

Reynolds nodded. "Yes. And somehow the strike spread through the city – into all the office buildings and schools. They didn't have anything to do with each other, of course, but it was too late. There was nothing I could do." He glanced sideways at his wife. "Until we came up with a plan."

If looks could kill, Mr. Reynolds would be dead and buried. Shaggy shivered automatically at Mrs. Reynold's glower. He couldn't believe how nice and polite she'd been to them all just the other day. This shift in her personality caught him completely off guard.

"I had gone into the woods last autumn, trying to see if we could sell some of our property," Reynolds explained. "While I was searching, I found this place." He gestured around them at the underground room. "When I followed the other tunnel and discovered it ended up at the school, I realized I'd found the legendary Underground Railroad stop that no one had seen in at least a hundred years. Before that building was the high school, you know, it was –"

"—a Civil War hospital," Fred, Daphne, and Velma all murmured together. They glanced over at Scooby and Shaggy.

"Re're rew rere," Scooby reminded them unnecessarily.

"Like, what does all this have to do with each other?" Shaggy asked.

"I'm starting to figure it out…" Velma said.

"Then like, could you fill us in?" Shaggy was hopelessly lost.

"Yes," the sheriff agreed, and Jacobson nodded. "We're dying to know."

"It's common knowledge around town that Coolsville used to be a stop on the Underground Railroad," Velma began. "There were stories about a secret tunnel in the old hospital that nurses and doctors would use to help fugitive slaves escape into the woods if Confederate soldiers invaded and came looking for them. But it hadn't been seen the since the Reconstruction era. The general consensus was that when they tore down the hospital and built a school, the tunnel was lost."

"But then _you_ found it," Daphne said, turning to Mr. Reynolds. She was starting to figure it out, too. "You followed it up into the school basement, and you figured out that you'd found the secret tunnel."

"And when you got to the school basement," Fred continued, also catching on. "You discovered the printing press, and then you ran back home and told your wife what you'd found."

The answer finally dawned on Scooby and Shaggy.

"Roo rook rhe rinting ress," Scooby realized. "Rand rought it rere."

"And like," Shaggy continued. "After you took the printing press and brought it here, you like, figured you could start counterfeiting your own money."

"And you decided to bring back the Algonquian legend of the Wendigo in order to keep people away from the woods," Velma went on. "So you made a suit, your wife spread a story about how you'd disappeared into the forest after encountering the Wendigo, and you've been putting it on and stalking around at night in order to scare people away."

The adults all seemed impressed by the astute observations.

"Velma," Daphne said, turning to the bespectacled girl. "You didn't seem surprised when we unmasked Mrs. Reynolds. How did you know it was her?"

"Well I wasn't completely positive," Velma admitted. "But I had a hunch because of the tofu."

"What do you mean?" asked Fred.

"I remembered what she'd said when we'd gone to visit her, everything she told us about the Wendigo 'attack' on her husband, and her repeated warnings to stay out of the woods. I also remembered that she'd mentioned cooking with tofu every day because it had been her husband's favorite thing to eat." Velma pointed then to Daphne and Fred. "And _then_ I remembered that you two had seen her go into the secret tunnel holding a cooler full of tofu."

"That's right!" Fred exclaimed. "I'd forgotten all about it because the Wendigo started chasing us."

"I'd forgotten too," Velma admitted. "Because I was still so wrapped up in my theory about Lewis Jacobson." She shot the tall man an apologetic look.

"And like," Shaggy said, a memory suddenly coming back to him. "Remember the day that we explored the tunnel? There were like, all those empty coolers lined up along the walls. They must have all had tofu in them, too!"

"And then this evening, when you told me about the vat," Velma said to Shaggy. "You thought it was odd that there was so much tofu down there, and then I remembered again that Mrs. Reynolds had said that her husband was a vegetarian, and that it was his favorite food. That was when it all started coming together for me. I figured out that Mr. Reynolds was living down here, to keep up appearances." She looked over to Mrs. Reynolds. "That's why there's so much tofu down here. You were bringing it to him."

"Very clever," Mrs. Reynolds spat, finally speaking for the first time since the unmasking. "You're too clever for your own good. That's why we needed to put a stop to you." She glared at Daphne and Fred. "I saw you two when you followed me out here that day. I pretended that the Wendigo had gotten me, and then changed into the costume with Paul so we could chase you out of here. We realized our hiding place had been compromised, so we started moving everything out of here over the weekend. Our plan was to burn down the tunnel once we'd removed all the evidence, so that no one would ever realize we'd been here."

"That's what the straw was for," Daphne realized. She scuffed at some of it with her shoes.

"And then after you burned all the evidence," Fred continued. "You were going to skip town, and…do what, exactly?"

"Yeah," Velma spoke up. "It's not like you would have been able to use the counterfeit money anywhere – people would find out it was fake eventually."

"I think _I_ can answer that question, actually," Sheriff Stone responded. "We got a tip from several employees at the Coolsville Bank that they discovered that their ATM surveillance cameras had been tampered with. We were about to go check it out when we received the phone call from Madelyn's friends."

"But from what we know now, it looks like these two," – Agent Jacobson gestured towards Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds – "were going to break into the ATM, switch out all the real twenties with the fake ones, and then be on their merry way."

"Yes." Mrs. Reynolds cut her eyes sideways at the gang, venom in her gaze. "And we would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids."

"And your dumb dog," her husband added.

x.X.x

Deputies from the sheriff's office had arrived to help Sheriff Stone escort Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds into custody and take the evidence from the tunnel under the oak tree. Jacobson had offered to walk the gang and Madelyn back to the Dinkley's house. Madelyn scurried ahead, eager to get out of the forest, but Jacobson and the gang walked a little slower so they could talk.

"You know, I hate to admit it," Jacobson said as they headed back through the woods. "But you kids kind of have a knack for this mystery-solving stuff. I've been combing these woods for weeks looking for the 'Wendigo,' or any sign of a place where a counterfeit operation could be headquartered, and you all found it in a matter of days."

"Well, it wasn't without its struggles," Daphne admitted. "But we're happy to have helped."

"It was kind of exciting," Velma said. "Having to do all that research and figure out how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together."

"I had fun building that trap," Fred added.

"I'm like, just happy it's all over," Shaggy remarked, as Scooby nodded vigorously in agreement. And this was true – for the most part. But he couldn't deny how thrilled he'd felt every time they'd uncovered a clue, or discovered new information. Even though it had been terrifying, it kind of reminded him of the rush he got while watching scary movies – the way his heart would speed up, pounding from fear and adrenaline, until his brain figured out that nothing bad was going to happen after all.

As frightening as the whole ordeal had been – Shaggy had enjoyed himself. He was going to miss having a mystery to solve.

Another thought occurred to him – now that the mystery was over, would the four of them go their separate ways? The idea made Shaggy's stomach clench.

"So what's going to happen to the secret tunnel now?" Fred asked Jacobson.

He shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I'll talk to the mayor and the sheriff, but odds are they'll probably have to fill it in. There's no way they could utilize it as a tourist attraction, what with one end being inside the high school, and the other end being in the middle of the woods in a residential neighborhood."

"What about the room where the printing press was?" Velma asked. "Will that need to be filled in, too?"

"Why?" Jacobson glanced at them suspiciously.

"Just wondering." Velma looked at the gang. "Agent Jacobson, can I uh…confer with my friends for a minute?"

Jacobson shrugged. "Be my guest." They had made it to the tree line by now. Madelyn had begun sprinting towards her house as soon as it came into view, so Jacobson jogged to catch up with her. The gang stopped right at the edge of the forest, where it met Velma's backyard.

"Like Velm, couldn't we have this conversation inside? It's like, freezing out here," Shaggy complained.

"R-r-eeah," Scooby agreed around chattering teeth.

"Don't worry, I'll try to make this quick." Velma shot a furtive glance over her shoulder towards her house, then turned back to everyone.

"What's up, Velma?" asked Daphne.

"Well…" Velma paused, wondering how to begin. Everyone waited. "Listen," she said after a few moments of silence. "I don't know about you guys, but…" she took a deep breath, determination in her eyes. Apparently it was taking a lot for her to muster up the strength to say whatever she was trying to say. _Valencia,_ Shaggy thought ruefully. _Looks you're like, living up to your Spanish name after all, Velm._

Velma finally continued. "I don't know about you guys, but the past few days…solving this mystery…with you all…" she looked at each of them in turn. "…it's been one of the best weeks of my life."

"Mine too," Daphne said almost immediately. "Oh my gosh, I'm so glad someone else feels that way!"

Shaggy's stomach unclenched, and he felt relief rush over him. "Like, me too," he replied, emboldened by Velma's and Daphne's words. "I won't pretend it wasn't scary, but like, the parts that weren't scary were pretty excellent."

"Reah," Scooby nodded in agreement. "Rye rike roo ruys."

Fred chuckled. "We like you too, Scooby Doo," he said, patting the top of the dog's head with a gloved hand. He looked at the gang. "I had a pretty great time solving this mystery with you guys, especially when we built that trap. I can't believe the net didn't drop when it was supposed to though!" He frowned. "I'm going to have to fix that for next time."

"Next time?" Daphne joked. "Do you think we'll be catching a lot of Wendigos, Freddie?"

Fred looked down and tried not to let Daphne see him grinning at her use of his nickname. "Well, maybe not Wendigos, necessarily…" he said.

Shaggy looked around at all his friends. "Like…" he began. "Do you guys think we should…maybe keep up this mystery-solving business?"

Fred smiled broadly now. "I think we owe it to the community," he said. "The Wendigo isn't the only urban legend we've got here in Coolsville, you know. I bet something else will rear its ugly head sooner or later. It would almost be irresponsible _not_ to keep solving mysteries."

The girls grinned at each other. "I think you're absolutely right, Freddie," Daphne said.

"Just as long as we don't let any more stupid fights get in our way?" Velma looked at them sternly.

"Relax Velm," Fred said. "We apologized! We're totally over it." He glanced sideways at the redhead. "Uh…right Daph?"

Daphne smiled and took Fred's hand. The fact that they were wearing gloves didn't hinder the effect it had on either of them. "You're forgiven, Freddie," she promised. "I'm over it, too."

Scooby jumped up and down. "Ra-hoo!" he cheered, licking the faces of his human companions. Everyone laughed. Then Scooby sat down in front of them all and looked at each of them with a fondness that, until this point, Shaggy had only ever seen him give food.

"Roo ruys," Scooby stated as clearly as he could. "Rar ry ravorite reople rin rhe rorld."

Shaggy walked up to him, putting his hand on Scooby's head. "And you're our favorite dog in the world, Scooby Doo," he said. "Like seriously. If it weren't for you – " Shaggy looked back over at Fred, Daphne, and Velma. "We like, may never have become friends."

"That's true," Daphne said. "It's because you showed up to our gym class that day. You brought us together."

"Thank you, Scooby," Velma smiled at him.

The five of them looked at one another, and put their hands in the air for a five-way high-five.

"VELMA DINKLEY!" Everyone turned, startled, towards the sound of Mrs. Dinkley's angry voice from the back door. "You and your friends get into the house this instant! You are in _so much trouble_ young lady!" Behind her, everyone could see the faces of their own parents glaring from inside the house.

The gang glanced at each other worriedly, then headed in to face the wrath.

x.X.x

"So…how long are you guys grounded for?"

The gang was on Skype a few hours later. It was after midnight, so they were keeping their voices down. Velma had whispered the question.

"Like, a week," Shaggy told her.

"Rame," Scooby replied. Scooby wasn't actually grounded, of course, but it wasn't as if he was going to leave the house without Shaggy anytime soon.

"Yeah, me too," Velma sighed. "I'm honestly surprised it wasn't a longer sentence, since they found out about Friday's detention and realized that I never gave them the detention slip to sign."

"Zoinks did my mom rip me a new one over that," Shaggy groaned, planting his forehead on his desk with a soft _thud._ Scooby placed his own head on Shaggy's knee in comfort. "The only reason I didn't get in like, more trouble was because I convinced everyone that I'm traumatized for life." He lifted his head and looked at everyone through the computer screen. "Seriously though, I think I am. I meant what I said about having a good time solving this mystery but like, in my whole life, I've never been more terrified than I was this week."

"Well the good news is that Lewis Jacobson recommended you get Scooby certified as an official emotional support animal," Daphne pointed out. "It probably meant a lot more to your parents coming from him than it would have from you."

"Like to be fair, I did mention it first," Shaggy admitted. "That librarian gave me the idea. But like, I really do think it'll help my constitution having Scoob be nearby more."

"Reah, re roo," Scooby agreed.

"And like, you're right – it was a good thing that Jacobson backed me up. My parents would have like, never gone for it otherwise."

"I wish he could have somehow convinced all of our parents to go easier on us," Fred sighed. "I'm grounded all week too."

"Ugh, so am I," Daphne groaned. "It's not fair, you know. We solved a crime! You'd think we'd get more credit."

"Well, like, the sheriff did say they would probably run this story in the paper next week," Shaggy reminded them. "We'll just have to keep our eyes open."

Scooby yawned. "Rut Rye'm rired."

Everyone chuckled softly.

"Well, let's get some sleep gang," Fred said. "We'll at least see each other at school tomorrow."

Everyone said their goodnights as they signed off. Velma was about to do the same, when Daphne stopped her.

"Hey Velm, can you hang back a second?"

Velma took her hand off the mouse. "Yeah, what's up?"

Daphne glanced to the side, looking guilty and nervous. What was going on?

"Um," Daphne began. "I wanted to apologize."

Velma furrowed her brow. "Apologize? For what?"

"For putting you in the middle of what was going on between me and Freddie," Daphne sighed. "It shouldn't have taken your sister being in danger for us to hash it all and finally apologize. This was the longest day of my life, and it's not just because of the mystery. I…" Daphne broke off and sighed again. "The rumors from this morning were terrible, but the worst part was…I couldn't stand fighting with Freddie. It was awful."

"And it was awful because…" Velma prompted her. _Come on, Daph. Just once and for all, admit to me, to yourself, how you feel about Fred._

"…Velma," Daphne's voice was barely a whisper. "I…I think I might be in love with Freddie."

Velma had no words. She just stared at the redhead through the computer screen in shock. Honestly, Velma would have been happy with Daphne admitting to a simple crush. But a _love_ confession?

"Wha – " Velma started, but found she was unable to finish. She tried to complete the thought in her head. "Where did this come from? Less than a week ago, you hated the guy!"

"Well," Daphne chuckled ruefully. "It's like my mom always says. Love and hate are two sides of the same coin." She took another deep breath. "Truthfully Velma, I've liked Fred for a long time. But I never took him seriously because he seemed like such an airhead. Before I got to know him, it seemed like his biggest personality traits were his love of sports and his love of traps. And I kind of built up this unfair image of him where he was bigheaded and egomaniacal, when in reality that's not at all true. He's sweet, and he's kind, and he's funny, and he's gentle, and when he kissed me, I felt – "

"Okay, okay!" Velma put her hands up as if to physically stop Daphne. "I don't need details on that. But jinkies Daph, he likes you too, you know. I bet if you told him how you felt, he'd jump at the chance to go out with you."

"But Velma," Daphne moaned. "What if something goes wrong? What if we get into another fight? Or what if he breaks up with me? What'll that do to the gang? I don't know if I'll be able to go on with a broken heart!"

Velma stopped herself from rolling her eyes. She hadn't realized how dramatic Daphne could get. _Well, she is a star of the drama club, after all_ , she reminded herself. But who would have known how insecure pretty, popular, perfect Daphne Blake could feel? Velma felt baffled.

"Well first of all," Velma said. "I think you're maybe getting ahead of yourself. You haven't even told him how you feel yet. Though I think I'd avoid the L-word for now," she added thoughtfully. "And honestly, as long as you guys communicate to each other what you're feeling, everything should be all right." She cocked her head to the side. "I think you two would make a pretty perfect couple."

"Really?" Daphne asked.

"Of course!"

Daphne smiled. "Velma, you're one of the best friends I've ever had. And it's not just because you're being so helpful right now. I can't believe we haven't been friends this whole time."

"Me neither," Velma admitted. "I mean, we've gone to school together for years. And Fred, too. We've all known each other since grade school. Who would have thought it would take a new kid and his dog to get us all together?"

"Speaking of," Daphne said. "If I ask out Fred, will you ask out Shaggy?"

Velma felt herself turn scarlet. "Absolutely not."

"How come?"

Velma sighed. "Unlike you and Fred, Shaggy and I have known each other for less than a week. It's too soon for me to understand what I feel for him, if anything. Besides, like you said, what if something happened and the gang didn't survive the fallout? I don't want to risk it." She looked Daphne in the eye. "Solving mysteries and being friends with you all is the most important thing to me right now. The other stuff can come later."

"All right," Daphne agreed. "But I _do_ want to tell Fred how I feel."

"Then you should," Velma encouraged her. "Do you know how? Or when?"

"Yes. But I have to wait a little while to get my nerves up. And for us to not be grounded anymore."

"Don't worry. He's waited for you this long," Velma pointed out. "Now I have to log off. I don't want to get in any more trouble with my parents."

"Good call, Velm," Daphne said. "Thanks for listening."

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" Velma grinned.

And with that, the two girls logged off.


	17. Thinking Out Loud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all are ready for some Fraphne in this chapter. Warnings: kissing! And some language. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera. All lyrics to the song Thinking Out Loud belong to Ed Sheeran.

**Chapter 17: Thinking Out Loud**

_One week later…_

As soon as the bell rang at the end of English class the following Monday, Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy leapt from their seats and raced towards the exit.

"Freedom! Like, sweet freedom!" Shaggy cried once they were out of the building. Scooby was waiting for them by the front door – his official stint as an emotional support dog hadn't been approved yet by the administration, but approval was imminent – and immediately ran towards them as soon as he saw them.

"Raggy!" he cried, leaping into his master's arms. Everyone embraced Scooby. "Ro rhat's rhe ran?"

"The plan," Fred answered, "is to go to the malt shop!" They had decided that morning in homeroom, as today marked the official end of their grounding.

A light snow fell as the gang made their way to the malt shop. Scooby made everyone laugh by attempting to catch snowflakes on his tongue. They sat in a booth once they arrived, and Molly the waitress appeared shortly afterwards to take their orders.

"Like, we'll pay our own way this time, Daph," Shaggy promised, patting the pocket of his brown jeans. "I like, remembered my wallet this time."

Daphne giggled. "Seriously Shag, don't worry about it. It was ages ago at this point."

"Regardless," Velma said. "We can cover our tabs this time."

"Hey, Dinks!"

Everyone looked up at the familiar voice. Tony Moretti strode towards the gang. His school bag was slung over his shoulder, and a newspaper was folded under one arm. He wore a huge grin.

"Hi Tony," Velma replied. Everyone else said hello in turn, though Shaggy looked at the table as he said it. Scooby watched him curiously.

"Jonsey, Blake, how you doin'?" Tony asked Fred and Daphne. "It seems like everyone's moved on, gossip-wise."

"Yes, and thank goodness," Daphne replied. The rumors about what Daphne and Freddie had been up to at Brandon's party had died down after a few days, when the truth about the counterfeit money had come up. The Reynolds' and the Wendigo had been all anybody at school had been talking about all week. Now it seemed pretty much everyone had forgotten about Daphne and Fred.

"Hey have you seen the front page headline in the _Coolsville Gazette?"_ Tony asked, reaching for the newspaper under his arm.

"No," Fred replied with interest. Everyone craned their heads forward as Tony laid the newspaper on their table. The headline read, "Teenage Sleuths Solve Counterfeit Case." Beneath the headline were the mugshots of Paul and Amber Reynolds.

"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"We're in the paper!" Daphne cried.

Fred took the newspaper in his hands. "Can I have this?"

Tony shrugged. "Be my guest. I brought it so you guys could have it. It's impressive what you did, you know?" He gave them a lopsided grin, a two-fingered salute, and headed out of the malt shop.

Molly the waitress dropped off their hot chocolates as Fred shook out the paper.

"Read it out loud, Freddie," Daphne pleaded.

"Like yeah," Shaggy replied, taking a sip of his chocolate. "Like I want to hear what it says!"

Fred cleared his throat and began reading. "Four local high school students and their dog have solved a counterfeit crime that's been plaguing Coolsville for weeks. Several months ago, when local real estate agent Paul Reynolds (45) disappeared, locals believed he had become a victim of the Wendigo of Willow Springs. However, thanks to a heroic unmasking in the Willow Springs woods last Monday, January 7th, the teens proved that Reynolds and his wife Amber (41) were behind not only the Wendigo sightings, but the counterfeit money operation. The students, Fred Jones Jr. (son of esteemed mayor Fred Jones Sr.), Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, along with their canine mascot Scooby-Doo, also discovered the entrance to Coolsville's long-forgotten Underground Railroad tunnel, where the Reynolds' had headquartered their counterfeit operation. Unfortunately, as the tunnel runs between the woods and the high school, city council will be filling it in by the end of the month. Regardless, the teens have done a great deal for the Coolsville community. Agent Lewis Jacobson of the FBI has stated that the students have a 'knack' for solving mysteries, and that he 'wouldn't be surprised to see them get into law enforcement in the future.' Sheriff Bronson Stone could not be reached for comment. For details on the Reynolds' trial, turn to page 6."

Everyone grinned wildly at each other. Except for Scooby-Doo, who scowled into his hot chocolate.

"Like what's wrong bud?" Shaggy asked. "Why the long face?"

"Rascot," Scooby grumbled.

Fred looked down. "What about my ascot?"

Daphne chuckled. "Not _ascot,_ Freddie. Scooby's upset that the paper referred to him as our _mascot._ " She patted the dog. "You know you're so much more than that to us, right Scooby?"

"Yeah," Velma added, scratching behind Scooby's ear. "You're the one who incapacitated the Wendigo in the lair. Without you we might never have captured the Reynolds'!"

Now it was Fred's turn to scowl. "We would have if my trap had worked right."

Everyone laughed again.

"Well," Daphne said, raising her hot chocolate in the air. "I would like to propose a toast. To my new best friends, our new vocation, and our teamwork."

"Hear, hear!" Velma responded, raising her mug as well. "We wouldn't have been able to do any part of this alone. It took all five of us to crack this case."

"Cheers!" Fred cried. All of them clinked their mugs and smiled at each other.

Shaggy certainly hadn't had friends like this back in California. He hated to admit it, but his parents had been right. He _did_ like it here, and it _had_ grown on him. He couldn't imagine life without the gang now. Like Scooby had said last week – these were his favorite people in the world.

"I'll be right back everyone," Fred said, scooting out of the booth. "Gotta take a whiz." Everyone watched him retreat.

Once Fred was out of sight, Shaggy turned to the girls. "Like, while he's gone, I have to talk to you all."

Everyone leaned their heads slightly closer together. "What's up, Shag?" asked Daphne.

"Well," Shaggy began. "Like, Fred's birthday is on Saturday, right?"

"Yes. He said there was a party at his place," Velma replied.

"Rut rhould re ret rim?" Scooby wondered.

"Actually," said Shaggy. "That's what I wanted to talk to you all about. I have an idea for like, an extremely groovy present for him…"

x.X.x

Shaggy called Fred on Saturday an hour before the party was due to begin.

"Hey, like, I need the gang to come to my house. It's like, urgent," he said. Shaggy wasn't sure if this would work, but it was the only way to surprise Fred. "The girls are already here."

"What's wrong?" Fred sounded worried.

"Uh…nothing's wrong, dude. Like, just come over. We'll see you soon." Shaggy hung up and turned to look at Daphne, Velma, and Scooby. "Like how'd I do?"

The others glanced dubiously at him, and Shaggy frowned.

"Well like fine, you do it next time," he grumbled. The girls chuckled.

"Come on," Velma said, taking Daphne's arm. "Let's go meet him in the garage."

Fred arrived shortly to find the gang all standing in Shaggy's garage, next to a large object covered by a white sheet.

"What's going on? What's so urgent?" Fred glanced around at the faces of his friends.

"We like, need a ride to your party," Shaggy told him.

"And since you're legally allowed to drive now," Velma continued, "we figured we should call you."

Fred's brow furrowed in confusion. "But Shaggy's the one with the car." He looked around, realizing the van they'd painted two weeks ago was missing. "Where is it?"

Scooby took one end of the white sheet covering the large object in his mouth. "Ron rhree!" he said.

"One…two…three!" Daphne counted, as the four of them yanked the sheet away.

Fred gasped. Under the sheet was the van painted with psychedelic flower imagery. But something new had been added to it. Printed in orange block letters on each side of the van were the words, "The Mystery Machine."

"Oh my gosh!" Fred exclaimed, running up to inspect in closer. "How…what…holy shit!" He stared in awe at the van, and then at the gang. "When did you do this?!"

"Rhis reek," Scooby answered.

Shaggy shrugged. "We figured that like, if we're serious about this mystery-solving thing, we should have a way to get around."

"And Shaggy let it slip to me that he hates driving," Velma said. "And since you're the only other one of us who's legally allowed to drive, we figured you should be the one with the van."

"Happy birthday, Freddie," Daphne murmured, placing the keys to the van in his hand. A silent thrill went through them both as they touched.

"You guys," Fred smiled widely at all of them. "This is the best birthday present ever. Thank you!" He put one arm around Daphne, and another around Velma. Shaggy stood on Velma's other side and Scooby sat down next to him. They gazed at the van, grinning.

"Well," said Daphne after a little while. "We don't want to be late to your party." She smiled at Fred. "Think you can give us a ride?"

Fred grinned so wide he felt like his face might split open. "It would be my pleasure."

x.X.x

Two hours later, Fred's birthday party was in full swing. Several kids from school had come by, including most of the JV football team (save for Red Herring) and many people who had been at Brandon Michaels' party two weeks before, including Brandon himself and Tony Moretti. Maureen Fischer and her friends were nowhere in sight. There was no alcohol here – the party was in the basement, and Mayor Jones was right upstairs – but there didn't need to be. Everyone was having a good time talking and dancing and – in Shaggy's and Scooby's case – eating. Daphne, Fred, and Velma kept bringing people over to the gang to introduce them. Holden Walsh, from the drama club, had long eyelashes and spiky blonde hair. Trent Adams played football with Fred. Velma's friend Marcie Fleach was a member of the science club.

Everyone loved Scooby, of course, who reveled in the attention.

"He's like, gonna start coming to school with me next month," Shaggy told people. "I got the official confirmation from the principal yesterday."

"That's awesome!" Tony grinned. "Dogs are great."

"Especially dogs like Scooby," Velma said, looking fondly at the Great Dane. Scooby nuzzled her hand affectionately.

A slow song began. Velma and Shaggy looked at each other, blushed, and hurriedly headed in opposite directions. Scooby watched them in confusion, but shrugged and made his way back to the food table. As she busied herself talking to Marcie, Velma noticed Daphne gazing at Fred. Daphne caught Velma's eye, and Velma raised her eyebrows at her. Daphne nodded, took a deep breath, and approached Fred. Velma grinned to herself. _Way to be strong, Daph. I'm proud of you._

"Hey, Freddie," Daphne said once he was in earshot. He turned away from the conversation he'd been having with Trent. Daphne cleared her throat. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about something? Somewhere uh…" She glanced around. "Private?"

Fred nodded. "Sure thing, Daph." He guided her away from the party, up the stairs, and onto and enclosed porch. The cold from outside didn't touch them here, but Daphne felt as though she could use a draft. Her nerves felt hot, and heavy. She felt herself flush as she gathered her courage.

There was a small love seat against the wall, but Fred didn't sit. He shut the door behind them and turned to look at Daphne questioningly.

"What's up?" he asked when she still said nothing.

A different slow song wafted up from the basement. _When your legs don't work like they used to before…_

Talk about ironic narration. Daphne certainly felt as though her legs would give way at any moment. She knew she'd been quiet for too long now. She had to say something.

"So," she said after a deep breath. "Here's the thing." She paused again, waiting for the words to come to her. Fred said nothing, just kept looking at her with those big blue eyes of his. She cleared her throat and looked away. "I've been thinking a lot these past two weeks and…and I wanted to say I'm sorry."

Fred furrowed his brow. "You're sorry? For what?"

"For how I acted after…after Brandon's party." Daphne blushed, but still didn't look at Fred.

"But…we already apologized for that." Fred seemed confused.

"No, I didn't. Not really." Daphne took another deep breath and felt her face get redder. She spoke in a rush. "I apologized for putting us in that position and for being mad at you afterwards, but I didn't apologize for lying."

Fred took an automatic step forward. "What did you lie about?"

Daphne sighed, cheeks flaming. "About how I feel about you," she answered in a small voice. She dared a glance up at Fred now. He still looked confused, as if he didn't get it. _Oh God. He's going to make me spell it out for him, isn't he?_ "I like you, Freddie," she murmured. "Like… a lot. In a… 'more-than-friends' way." It wasn't the love confession she'd admitted to Velma, and for that Daphne was glad. If she was feeling this embarrassed from the admittance of a crush, how would she feel if she'd told Fred she loved him?

Finally, understanding crossed Fred's face. He stared at her in disbelief. "You…you do?"

Daphne nodded. The words came out faster than she meant them to, but she knew that if she paused to think, she'd lose her nerve entirely. Everything she said now was stream-of-consciousness word vomit. "I think I've liked you for a long time. But I always acted like I didn't because…because I wasn't sure if you liked me for the right reasons. I mean, you're always talking to beautiful girls like Rita Reynolds and Adrienne Maxim and even Maureen Fischer. I used to think you were shallow, just collecting the prettiest girls without really knowing much about them as people. I wasn't sure if you liked me for _me,_ or just thought I was a pretty face. But then I got to know you, and…" Daphne sighed again. "I was wrong. And I'm sorry. You have more depths than I gave you credit for. You're kind and you're charming and you're clever, and I wish I'd realized that sooner."

Fred was quiet for a long, long time. It looked as though he was trying to figure out how to respond. Daphne waited with bated breath, positive that she'd said too much and scared him off.

Finally, he looked at her with a tenderness in his eyes that she'd never seen him give any girl before. Not even her.

"How could you believe I only ever thought you were a pretty face?" Fred asked her softly. He took another step towards her. Daphne felt her heart climb into her throat. "I mean Daphne, obviously you're beautiful, but…you've got depths, too. I've always known how smart and funny and talented you are. Those were the things that drew me into you. Your looks are just an icing on the cake." He was closer now. "Everything about you is beautiful to me. I…" Now his cheeks tinged pink. "I can't stop looking at you."

It maybe wasn't the most romantic thing he could have said. But Daphne understood the feeling. She felt it too, right now. Gazing at him, at his strong chin and broad shoulders, with tenderness and adoration beaming down at her from his big blue eyes, it was more than just his good looks that drew her in. It was _everything_ about him – his loyalty to her and the gang, his kindness to others, his exuberance for solving mysteries and building traps. It all shined out of him, making him radiant to Daphne, and she couldn't look away. He was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

"I can't stop looking at you either," she admitted. Fred closed the gap between them, cupped Daphne's face in his hands, and kissed her. Daphne closed her eyes and kissed him back with fervent need. Her hands snaked around the back of his neck and her fingers entwined themselves in his fine, blonde hair. The hazy, drunken memory of the last time they'd kissed wormed its way into her brain, but it paled in comparison to what was happening now. There was no blurry fog surrounding them here. Daphne's head was clear, and she was glad. She wanted to remember every single moment of this. She felt as though she couldn't get close enough to him – she wanted to fold herself against him until they were welded together.

"I'm sorry I made you wait this long," Daphne sighed when they broke apart briefly to breathe. His lips were back on hers before the words were barely out.

"S'okay," Fred murmured between kisses. "I would have waited for you as long as it took."

Their kissing took on an urgent fervor. Daphne bit down softly on Fred's lower lip. His tongue grazed hers and a jolt went down her spine. His hands grasped the back of her dress. Daphne pulled Fred closer to her by gripping his ascot.

Fred broke away suddenly, but kept his arms around her. "Oh my gosh!, I'm sorry." He glanced nervously towards the house. Two big windows showed the empty living room.

Daphne giggled. "It's okay. We don't need to worry about anyone spreading rumors. Maureen isn't even here."

Fred shook his head. "No, but my dad is. And he might not spread rumors, but I'd rather not let him catch us."

Daphne's eyes widened. "Oh, shit. Good call, Freddie." They smiled at each other. Fred took Daphne's hand in his and led her towards the door.

"Hey, do you want to go out tomorrow?" Fred asked as they re-entered the house and began descending the stairs to the basement. "I can take you to dinner or something."

Daphne's eyes shined. "That sounds wonderful, Freddie. How about Moretti's?" It was an Italian restaurant, owned by Tony's family, and one of the most romantic spots in town.

Fred grinned back. "Tony will be happy to hear that."

They found Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby clustered by the punch bowl, laughing at something Scooby had just said. The three of them stopped abruptly when they noticed Fred and Daphne holding hands.

Velma pointed to them. "Are you…?"

Daphne shrugged and looked at Fred. "What do you say, Freddie? Should we make it official?"

Fred smiled and pulled Daphne closer to him. "Daph's my girlfriend now."

Daphne felt her heart swell as she heard that word attributed to her. _Girlfriend._ Certainly it had been said of her before, but there was more meaning behind it now than there ever had been. She was proud to be Fred Jones' girl.

"Like dude, it's about time," Shaggy remarked, slapping Fred five.

"Reah," Scooby agreed.

Velma grinned wide for one and all. "Congratulations you guys."

The cake was brought out soon afterwards. Everyone sang happy birthday to Fred before he blew out the candles.

"What'd you wish for, Freddie?" asked Daphne, who stood closest to him.

He put his arm around her, pulled her close, and kissed her temple. "Nothing. I've got everything I could ever want right here with me."

Velma glanced over at Shaggy. He looked back at her. Both of them blushed and dropped their gaze. Scooby noticed, and twitched his tail in confusion.

"Come on, gang! Let's dance!" Daphne called as a fast-paced song began. She led the way to the dance floor, where other classmates moved to the music as well. Scooby shook his head, smiling. His moment of confusion was over. He was thrilled to be where he was, with his new best friends, and his Shaggy.

"Rooby Rooby Roo!" he barked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed "One For The Money!" I'll start publishing the sequel, "Two For The Show" tomorrow!


End file.
